Our Fair Leader
by Sianaris
Summary: This is the story about a Pink Pikmin and her life. Two mysterious Leaders whose motives are unknown, a rival Pikmin color, abandoned by her own kind, and lost in a world she doesn't understand.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a story about an abused Pikmin's life, and her view on the world that she lives in. This story begins to take place before the first Pikmin game and may or may not continue into the first. This story does include new fan-made Pikmin colors and perhaps new areas and/or monsters. These new areas, monsters and Pikmin are fan-made and not created by the makers of Pikmin themselves. Any future similarities are simply coincidence._

_All characters, monsters, areas and Pikmin in general are © Nintendo._

**Prologue**

I used to think that I knew myself. I knew that I was a Pink. I knew what I looked like and how I should instinctively behave. I knew that we were pulled from the ground and had to follow the one who pulled us up until the moment we died. A parent of sorts, I suppose. But I never really knew why. It was just something that we all accepted.

We live, we work, and eventually we return to the ground from where we were born, one way or another. It all sounds so simple, but it's not. Everything is so much more complicated than it has to be. Like, why do we come in different shapes and colors, and why can't we all just get along? Are we not the same, after all?

I... I know that I have outlived many, if not most, of the others I had gotten to know over my lifetime. Our lives, they're so... fragile. So is everything else in this insane world. Life, love, happiness... after a while, it all seems so pointless, everything going around and around in circles, never changing or going anywhere. Like the exact same story told time and time again, only slightly different. And yet I keep on living. Why? Why are we here, why are we alive? Do we have a purpose? And why are we following these creatures who fell from the sky one day in a metal monster?

It's questions like these that have led me through the improbable and strange torment that is my life...


	2. Chapter 2 Birth

I don't know how long I have been out here. One night alone is a very long time, and it has been a great many nights. But now matter how long it has been, I can still remember everything like it just happened. Oh, how I wish it were all a dream...

I was like any other normal Pikmin, or so I thought. I was born in the ground and given the same instincts as everybody else. I could absorb nutrients through my skin and take in sunlight with my leaf just like everybody else. I could think and feel and I knew the difference between a friend and an enemy, like everybody else. But why did I feel so different? Why am I still so different?

It was strange. It always is. I felt happy and secure in the ground. It was so warm and I didn't want the comforting feeling to end, the feeling that I was home and safe from all danger. My stem waved slowly through the air above me, my leaf gathering the sunlight and warming my entire body even further. The roots on my arms and legs gathered water and cooled me down at the same time, adjusting my body temperature to be just right. It felt like paradise.

Then all of a sudden, I froze. Even my stem stood perfectly still as I felt and heard something different from what I was already used to. The earth around me was shaking at a steady beat while a dull thud kept in time with the movements. Before I had the chance to even wonder what was going on, two hands grabbed onto my stem from somewhere above and I felt my entire body be pulled from the ground easily. With a little pop and a graceful flip into the air, I was born. Atleast, it would have been graceful, had I not been so shocked by the sudden change in the environment. I was so surprised that I was thrown completely off-balance and couldn't manage to land on my feet. I hit the ground and lay dazed for a moment. Foolishly, the first thing I tried to do was open my eyes, which I soon found out was a mistake.

It was so... bright. I had to shake my head and rub my eyes, stunned by the sudden unexpected light. It was so perfect beneath the ground, but the once-beautiful sun felt like it was burning my sensitive pink skin rather than making me all warm and comfortable like it did before. I made a tiny squeak of pain and covered my eyes as quickly as I could in a feeble attempt to protect myself, but the damage was done and it just kept on coming.

Right away I felt those mysterious hands again, holding me gently and carefully as if afraid of breaking me. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up into the face of a very strange creature. I was afraid of him at first, but something told me that I had nothing to fear. My large blue eyes met his soft dark eyes and I suddenly felt... safe. No, more than safe. _This_ was what it felt like to be "home". My little body relaxed in his arms and I was no longer afraid.

He smiled at me and instantly I felt a rush of happiness, as if the sun I knew before was warming me once again. But my happy little world was broken by a loud, horrible shriek from somewhere behind the creature.

"Cory, you idiot! What's taking so long? Pluck those things and get back over here!"

My new friend flinched and nodded, then carefully helped me to my feet. I stood for the first time, and how strange it was. My roots had become fingers and toes, which helped me to stand. My new friend, this strange creature, also had fingers and toes, but mine were so much smaller than his. I wondered why. Well, atleast my feet were much tinier. My hands weren't the same size nor shape as his. They had two thick fingers and a thumb on the bottom of my hand all tipped with sharp white claws that were shiny in the sun.

He looked similar to me, in a way. He had arms, legs, a body, and a head. He even had a stem, but a very strange looking leaf. Or could it have been a flower? I couldn't tell, it looked like an odd glowing green thing. He was wearing a suit of some kind, it was white and had a strange green pack of some sort on the back, as well as what looked like a... bubble or something encasing his head. His hands were covered with a pair of green gloves, and even his boots had a green stripe near the bottom. He had some short black hair and a rather large nose, not to mention those lovely dark brown eyes that had entranced me.

I watched him curiously as he ran around some strange pole-like things and grabbed more stems just like mine. When he pulled on the stems, more Pikmin like me popped out of the ground with similar graceful little flips, except they managed to land on their feet. Showoffs.

We were Pink Pikmin. Obviously, we all had light pink skin. We also had large blue almond-shaped eyes and the strange claws I mentioned earlier. I looked at the long poles, and gazed upwards in amazement as I realized that they were supporting something big. It had an odd roundish shape that was a bit pointier near the top and was covered in stripes and triangular symbols of some sort. It was propped up on the tall stilt-like structures, three of them, and had a pretty white flower growing on top. I had no idea what it was, but I had the strangest feeling that it was where I belonged.

As I stood there with my tiny mouth hanging open, I almost didn't notice a larger Pink made her way towards me. She had a big white flower on her head instead of a leaf like the others and myself. Infact, her flower looked a lot like the one growing on top of that big round thing. Could there have been some kind of connection?

I smiled at her as pleasantly as I could and squeaked a little, "Hello," but she didn't even seem to notice me, that or she was ignoring me. She walked past me and stood beside the green creature, then looked at me expectantly. I didn't know what she wanted me to do, she just kinda stared at me, as if I was supposed to know what she wanted or something. Then, the green creature suddenly made a strange whistling noise, which I could only assume was coming from his flower because of the strange energy sparks that formed around it.

I jumped at the shrill noise and was still as confused as ever as I watched the other Pinks reluctantly go to his side. Then they were all watching me. He whistled again and I just stood there until I finally realized that he was trying to call me to his side. I squeaked in embarrassment and ran towards them, my cheeks feeling warmer than the rest of my body for some reason. The flower Pikmin glared at me, almost as if to say "don't make that mistake again". She didn't even need to say a word to accuse me of doing something wrong.

I stopped in front of the green creature and looked up at him, hoping that he could forgive me. If only he just told us what he wanted rather than making that loud noise, then I would have run to his side immediately. He looked down at me and smiled warmly, as though forgiving me. No... looking into his eyes I could tell that he never blamed or forgave me for anything. He didn't think I did anything wrong that needed to be forgiven. I was so glad that he wasn't angry with me... he seemed really nice, and already I wanted nothing more than to be by his side at all times.

Then I heard that loud, awful noise again.

"Cory! What is wrong with you today, get them over here!"

The green creature looked at something beyond me. I couldn't help but notice how he seemed a little sad. "Yes, Anton."

The green creature began to walk away and we all followed him instinctively, while I was trying my very best to stay right by his side. We came to an even larger object than what I had already decided to call home. It was really huge and didn't look nearly as natural or inviting as the large object sitting on stilts. It was covered in what looked like rust and dirt, not quite clean or safe-looking. It appeared very old and worn-out, and I definitely didn't like it at all. But I didn't like the looks of what came out of it even more.

Another creature emerged from the huge metallic object that looked similar to the green one, but the parts that were green on his suit were yellow on this one instead. He was much fatter than the green one and had a mustache under his nose. He had some curly red hair on his head and his flower glowed yellow. His eyes were also dark, but they were small and almost menacing, far from being warm and comforting. Just being near that thing frightened me so much that I shivered and huddled a little closer to my new friend, hoping that he could somehow protect me.

"Finally! What took you so long, you knucklehead?" He sighed in frustration and stared at the green one, and I was startled to see that he seemed even more afraid of the yellow one than I was at that moment. How was that possible? How horrible could this thing be to frighten him so much? "I should have brought Jerry along. _He's_ able to take a simple command and not question what I say or do. Why can't you be like Jerry? You're useless!"

The green creature cringed and closed his eyes, looking sad and ashamed. I could see that whatever the yellow one was saying it was upsetting the green one. Seeing him like that replaced my fear with anger right away, and I curled my clawed hands into fists. He was nice to me and I didn't want anybody to hurt him. What right did this guy have to treat the green one like that? No, it wasn't right at all.

Almost as though she could read my mind, the flowered Pink touched my arm to get my attention. I looked up at her and she gave me a stern look, shaking her head and whispering, "It isn't worth it." The anger I felt slowly and almost painfully died inside of me and I wished that she hadn't stopped me. She was probably right, although at the time I just didn't care. All I could think about was getting back at that jerk.

The yellow one then began to circle around us as though inspecting us, but I didn't know what for. The green one noticed and suddenly hurried away from my side, causing me to panic. What did he run away for?

Quietly the yellow one wandered around us, judging our every flaw and feature, until he suddenly stopped beside a small Pink Pikmin and grabbed her arm tightly. She shrieked in pain and fear, struggling in his grasp and wondering what she did wrong. What was he doing to her?! I felt my anger flare up again almost as powerful as it was before, and this time the flower Pink grabbed hold of my shoulder and didn't let go.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he glared down at the young Pink. "Ugh... you mess up everything, Cory. This thing is way too scrawny, its useless. Put it in the cage with your other mistakes and we'll get going soon. At least it might make suitable bait."

The yellow one swung his arm back and threw the little Pink with ease. I watched as the poor little thing flew through the air and landed on her side, as she wasn't quick enough to catch herself in the air and try to land on her feet. I heard quite clearly the snap of her delicate arm as she hit the ground, and noone could ignore her screams of agony as she writhed in pain. I covered my mouth in horror and looked away, unable to imagine how that must have felt. The flowered one must have known that something even worse could have happened to me if I tried to protect the green one, and I would have been thankful for her interruption if I wasn't already scared out of my wits. How could he just do something like that? I was so shocked that I barely noticed the larger Pink's hand suddenly go away.

I was paralyzed and almost fainted when something much heavier than her hand rested on my shoulder. I was too afraid to look back, but I didn't need to. I knew that it was the yellow one standing right behind me, especially when the other Pinks backed away in fear. It felt like I was standing there for an eternity with that monster behind me, when in reality it was only a few seconds. The green one watched us from behind the others. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he recognized me right away and was very concerned, maybe even afraid for me.

"Hmm... this one has an anger management problem, I can tell. Perfect for fighting. Maybe you're not a complete screw-up after all, Cory."

Relief instantly filled my body when I felt the hand go away. I heard the yellow one walk away, but even then I was still too afraid to look back at him. The other Pinks waited until he was far away enough before they all rushed over to me, squeaking with concern and fawning over me. A few gently took hold of my leaf and checked for any damage, as if they thought just being near him would have caused it to wilt and die.

"What is your problem? Do you have a death wish or something?"

The other Pinks quickly scurried out of the flower's way then gathered behind me in fear, as if expecting me to fight her off or act as a shield. Sure, I wanted to be a protector and I wanted to be respected, but I honestly wasn't sure if I was more afraid of the yellow one or of this flower Pink. Something about her just wasn't right, and it frightened me.

As she walked up to me, I felt very small and insignificant. I really didn't want to be there. Why didn't the green one leave me in the ground where I was happy? Even though that meant I wouldn't have ever met him, atleast I wouldn't have had to face these scary things either...

As I looked up at her, I realized how intimidating and powerful she really looked. She was definitely bigger and older than me, no doubt about that. The scars and marks on her body suggested that she had been in many a fight, and that should have been my first clue as to why she was the only one of her kind as well as been an indication of what was to come. Her blue eyes might have been beautiful, had they not been staring into my very soul so coldly that it burned. They looked down at me with a piercing glare and I felt too afraid to move, almost paralyzed. She knew it, too.

I felt a flood of relief wash over me when I heard the green one whistle again. The flower one gave me a final warning with her eyes, then ran to him as the other Pinks following her, not out of respect but out of fear. I knew he wanted me to go to him but I couldn't move. My entire body felt heavier than before and I wanted more than ever to go back into the ground and stay there. Not for the comfort, but to hide from everybody and everything. I was afraid for my life. I had only just been created and already I had more than enough. I was just an innocent sprout a few minutes earlier, and I was perfectly content with sitting in one place for the rest of my life, far away from the danger and cruelty of the world. What had I done to deserve this? What had any of us done? And what would happen to that poor little Pink who was uncaringly tossed aside and injured..?

I then felt a presence behind me. I was afraid that it might have been the yellow one, or maybe the flower one had returned to teach me a lesson. I braced myself for the worst, but it didn't come. I jumped as I felt something touch my back gently, startled and almost expecting to get into a fight for my life. But as I turned to see who it was, I saw the green creature standing behind me equally as startled as I was. He looked at me with those brown eyes, and I could see the genuine concern within them.

My cheeks felt warm again and I whispered, "Sorry," to him as I turned my face away, feeling no less than ashamed and embarrassed. How could I have mistaken him for that yellow beast? Of all people to see me so frightened, I didn't want it to be him. Even so, somehow I just knew that I could trust him, trust him more than anything else in the world.

I wanted to talk to him about all that had happened, tell him how afraid I was, but what could I have said to him? It was too strange and confusing for me, he would have never understood. I barely understood it... no, I didn't understand it at all myself. But, I guess I didn't need to tell him anything. He knew, and he understood more than I could imagine. I just wish I had known that much sooner.

He slowly reached out towards me and gently took hold of one of my hands. It was easy to see that he was worried about me. Maybe he was just as afraid of the yellow one as I was, maybe more, but it hadn't occurred to me at the time. I could only think of myself and the comfort that I wanted. I heard the other Pinks murmuring something behind the green one, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I had a feeling that the flower one was not impressed at my cowardice one bit.

"Don't worry, I'm here… you'll be alright as long as I'm here, I promise," the green one said with a warm and caring smile that chased all of my fear and doubt away. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

I gazed up at him and tilted my head to the side in confusion. Just hearing his voice was enough to soothe my spirit, but I couldn't understand his strange language. Then again maybe I didn't want to. I loved his smile. When the green one smiled at me it felt like nothing could possibly go wrong, that the whole world was at peace. I put the frightening image of the yellow one out of my mind and tried to be happy, like all Pinks should be. _Things will get better_, I would tell myself. _Things will get better._

If only I knew how wrong I was.

He seemed happy as he noticed my change in mood, even if I did try to force out the positive attitude at first. "C'mon," he murmured to me, "we have work to do before sunset." He slowly led me away, still holding onto my hand as I walked at his side. My happiness wasn't forced anymore, I felt truly happy to be able to walk with him that way.

I felt proud as I walked with him and all the others simply followed behind, and I knew that atleast one of them must have been jealous. I was simply delighted at the very idea, and squeezed his hand a bit as we went along together through the dust and dirt, feeling important and like a real leader.


	3. Chapter 3 Orange Pikmin

I chirped happily and followed the green one here and there. I wanted to be by his side, no matter what. I stayed right beside him and smiled. The flower Pikmin was running on his other side but not smiling. I wondered why she was like this. Did she just plain not get along with others or something?

He led us to a strange wall. It was white and big, having an almost spider web appearance to it. I looked up at it, amazed and wondering how such a thing got there. The green one's whistle caught my attention and I looked to him. His whistle this time was different, a little bit more high-pitched and it lasted a little longer too. I watched as the flower Pikmin walked up to the wall, then she grabbed hold of it and began to beat at it with her flower. I had no idea what she was doing, but the others seemed to catch on quickly enough. All the other Pinks joined her in beating the wall with their leaves. I ran over, taking an ignored corner of the wall and beginning to beat it with my own leaf. We were supposed to break the wall down but I wondered why.

It took us a while, but we slowly broke down the wall and reduced it to mere rubble. We all cheered in victory, doing graceful little flips and clapping our hands, swishing our leaves to and fro. The flower Pikmin didn't join us in our celebration, she began to clear away the rubble on her own. I joined her in cleaning up the path but the others didn't. The other Pikmin were worn out from breaking the wall and they decided to take a break, sitting and laying around the green one who watched us. He observed us with curiosity almost like a child. It was cute, somehow. I wished that the others would help, but part of me felt a sense of pride for doing something that the others were too lazy to do. I was tougher.

When the path was clear enough, I sat down and breathed deeply. I was tired after breaking the wall, now I was just exhausted. I looked up at the flower Pikmin, who didn't look tired at all! And I thought I was tough.

The green one walked past us, leaving us to rest some more. I could really use some water right now, my entire body ached from my work. I heard him make a sound of amazement, so I looked and saw something strange. It looked like our home, but it was nearly black and had no stilts. The green one approached it and lightly touched it, then it suddenly lit up a bright orange and a flower appeared on top of it. The flower spun, almost straining, then it popped out of the ground and three stilts appeared below it, then it landed on the ground and dropped a little seed. I was baffled. That happened really fast.

I thought that the green one would be happy. We did what he wanted us to do and he found something great. But... he looked saddened. I didn't know why.

As the little seed buried itself in the ground, a tiny bud popped out of the ground. After a few seconds, the tiny bud turned into a sprout with a perfect little leaf swaying to and fro. The green one hesitated, but he grabbed onto the little stem and pulled another Pikmin from the ground. But it wasn't like us. It was orange and very skinny. It's feet were flat, almost paddle-like. I tilted my head at it and stared. He was kind of funny-looking.

The green one smiled at the little creature. The Orange Pikmin looked up at him expectantly, ready to take orders. The green one came back to us with our new friend behind him. The little Orange Pikmin looked at us curiously but he kept following the green one. I was scared for a second because I thought that they were leaving us behind, but the green one stopped beside a huge flower. It had a weird pellet or something growing on it. The green one grabbed the Orange Pikmin. I suddenly remembered the yellow one and what he did to my fellow Pink and I felt terrified. Don't tell me he's going to do the same thing!

I yelped as I saw the green one throw the little Orange Pikmin and I felt betrayed. How could he do such a thing? I thought he was our friend! But the Orange Pikmin landed safely on a flower petal. He blinked in confusion for a second, then he kicked the pellet and they both fell. The Orange landed perfectly on his feet and didn't look like he had a scratch on him at all! The stem of the strange flower wilted and retreated into the ground and the red colored pellet landed beside him with a little thud.

"Be calm, small one, the green one means no harm to any of us. Fear not." The flower Pikmin sat down beside me and we both watched as the lone Orange Pikmin carried the pellet toward his home. I didn't understand what was going on at all.

"Small one, I hope you are prepared for our near future." I looked up at her and tilted my head to the side. What did she mean? The flower one kept watching the Orange Pikmin. "Life will be dangerous, and short if you are not careful. Us Pinks are depended on by the Leaders. I am the eldest Pink, therefore I shall be your leader when the Green Leader and Yellow Leader are not around. Understand?" I nodded. I didn't know what would be more dangerous than being around the yellow one, I just hoped that everything would be okay.

I heard a little popping sound. I looked beyond the flower Pikmin and saw that there were now two Orange Pikmin. The new one was a girl and she seemed a little bigger than the first Orange. They squeaked in happiness and one rubbed its leaf against the other. It was so cute that they were friends already. I then realized that I had no friends yet. Perhaps I will get to actually talk to the other Pinks later on.

The two Orange Pikmin gathered more pellets and more of their kind were made. While us Pinks rested I decided to count how many of us there were. One, two, three, there's two sleeping over there, a few are climbing flowers... so, seven, eight... a few Pinks seemed to be playing a hiding game of some kind. It took me a few minutes to count us because I kept recounting the same Pinks sometimes. But there are fourteen of us, including me and the flower Pink.

When the Green Leader, that's what I'll call him from now on, was satisfied with the number of Oranges he walked back over to us. I chirped and jumped up to meet him. He whistled again, the more familiar whistle, and we all ran to his side. The flower Pink had to explain to me that the Green Leader was gentle and he was only helping the Orange Pikmin to reach his food. That made me feel a whole lot better. She also told me that the little Pink from earlier today was thrown by the Yellow Leader because she was being punished. I didn't know why she would have to be punished, but I didn't want to talk about him anymore.

As the Green Leader brought us back to the huge ship, he signaled for us to stop and he walked inside of it. The Pinks all rushed away from the Oranges. I didn't know why. They seemed really nice. I began to walk toward the Oranges to get to know them but I felt a little hand grab onto me. "No! Please, don't go over there. They're not like us!" I looked back at the frantic Pink behind me. I didn't know why he was so scared. I mean, we all looked alike so what was the difference?

I gently took his hand off of me and began to walk toward the group of Oranges. I heard several whimpers and "Come Back" as I walked toward the Oranges but I didn't listen to them. Why were they so afraid?

As I approached them I saw the first Orange somewhere near the front of their group. I smiled and walked over to him. One of the Orange Pikmin pinned back his leaf and glared at me, then all the others turned their attention toward me. What was his problem? I was about to say hello to the first Orange, but another Orange suddenly jumped in front of him and yelled, "What do YOU want, Pinky? Go back to your own group!"

I was stunned. Who could be that mean? I just wanted to be friends! I was about to say something, but the Orange suddenly pushed me to the ground! I squeaked in protest and tried to get up but I was knocked flat on my back when he suddenly hit me with his leaf. Then there was a really big commotion and pain as all the Oranges began to beat me. I screamed for help, I didn't know what was going on! I didn't do anything!

I was trying to shield myself with my arms but it did no good. They were still attacking me with all they had. I heard more screams somewhere in the crowd and the Orange who first attacked me was knocked to the ground easily by the flower Pink. She quickly helped me to my feet and tried to guide me out of the crowd, but the fight between the Oranges and Pinks continued.

I was really scared and confused, then I heard several loud whistles somewhere outside of the group. Then I saw the glowing flower of our Green Leader as he made his way toward the center of the crowd and tried to get everybody's attention. He made one final loud and long whistle and everybody stopped fighting with fists raised in mid-attack. Pinks and Oranges began to help Pikmin of their color to stand and they formed two groups again. The flower Pink helped me over to our group. I had to lean on her because one of my legs were really hurt. One of my eyes were closed because I got punched really hard. I was in a lot of pain and I felt even worse when I got to the group because it looked like everybody got injured. The Oranges all glared at me.

The Green Leader sighed, relieved that we all stopped, then he flinched as he heard the Yellow Leader say something. I didn't know what he said but I had a feeling that it was a naughty word.

"NOW what?! What did you do now, Cory? They all look nearly dead! What have you done?!" The Green Leader fell to his knees as the Yellow Leader punched him in the back. I didn't feel the usual anger this time. Now I was scared. Really scared. The Yellow Leader whistled at us loudly, then he grabbed the Green Leader's arm and nearly dragged him inside of their ship. I wanted to run in with them and protect the Green Leader but I knew I couldn't, no matter how much I wanted to.

After the Yellow Leader whistled, I saw the Oranges begin to retreat. I guess they were going home because that's what the other Pinks were doing. The Pinks began to climb the stilts and entered our home. One Pink had to be carried by another because his arm was hurt badly. The flower Pikmin helped me over to a stilt. "Grab onto it with your hands and just climb. Don't use your legs because it might hurt you too badly. I'll climb after you and make sure you don't fall. Okay?" She spoke to me gently now. I felt better because she was so nice to me now.

I grabbed onto the stilt with my hands and slowly began to climb, wincing now and then because my hurt leg bumped against the stilt. Like she promised, the flower Pink followed me and encouraged me to climb and not look down. As I came to the entrance of our home, she told me to put my good foot on the stilt and use my hands to climb inside. I did as she said and it was nice inside of our home.

I limped over to an empty spot and carefully laid down on my back, looking up at the curved ceiling. The flower Pink walked over and sat beside me. I was happy to have her around now. She wasn't as mean as she seemed to be in the beginning.

"Small one, what were you thinking?" I looked up at her and asked weakly, "What?" She sighed and shook her head. "What were you thinking when you decided to risk your life talking to those Oranges? They're not like us." I closed my good eye and replied, "I don't know... they seemed nice." "Only to their own kind! We may work together, but that doesn't mean that they will like us. Please try to understand." I opened my eye and looked up at her. "But I can't understand! I don't see why we have to hate each other, why can't we all be friends?" She looked at me sadly. "We just can't, small one. We're like two different worlds. I learned the hard way, I don't want you to."

And that was that. She laid down on her side with her back turned to me and didn't talk anymore. I thought I saw her shake slightly but I didn't ask. I closed my eye again and tried to go to sleep, which didn't take too long. The day's events had me completely worn out and I deserved a good sleep now.


	4. Chapter 4 Yellow Goo

The next day I awoke to the Green Leader's whistle. He made ten short and shrill whistles. I didn't know what most of his whistles meant, I still didn't understand why he didn't just talk to us. I tried to get up, only to be gently laid down by the flower Pikmin again. "You stay here and rest. Green Leader is only calling out ten of us for now. Besides, we can't have a repeat of yesterday's events."

I nodded sadly. I would probably feel better if I was around the Green Leader, but what if all the Oranges got mad at me again? I didn't want to get hurt even more. I watched as the flower Pink gathered 9 other Pinks, only the least injured of us, then they climbed out to greet our leader.

I slowly sat up and looked to see how many of us were left. Only four of us in all? Then before us new Pinks, the flower Pink was all alone. If we were the only color that Green Leader discovered... what happened to all the Pinks before us? I doubt he would travel with only one of us.

I felt sorry for the three other Pinks in here. I spotted not far away from me the Pink who warned me not to go over to the Oranges in the first place. He was sitting up too, holding one of his arms that got really injured. He was actually cut really bad. I got hit pretty hard but not cut. How did that happen? His leaf also got nicked, a little triangle shape was cut out of the side and that looked like it hurt too. He looked like he was crying not long ago and I felt really bad. If I had stayed with the others like I was told to he would not have been hurt.

I noticed the other two Pinks sitting together. The girl Pink's stem looked really weird, almost like it was bent in half! Her male companion had his left eye closed, a long fresh cut ran through it. He seemed to be holding her hands and trying to comfort her, without much success. She was crying and shaking a lot.

I looked at the floor in shame. How could I bring this upon my fellow Pinks? I must seem really selfish to them, or really stupid.

I knew that I couldn't do anything to help them, but maybe I could try and make things at least a little better. Gathering up all of my courage, I crawled over to the Pink who warned me and sat beside him. He looked up at me for a few seconds, his eyes slightly purple from crying, then he looked away from me. "Oh, it's you," he said quietly. His voice cracked a little. I wanted to talk to him but what could I say? Hi, I'm the person who almost killed everybody and got your arm ripped off?

"I told you not to go over there, I told you. But you didn't listen," he suddenly blurted out. I nodded my head and said quietly, "Yeah, I know..."

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I heard the gentle sobs of the other girl Pink but that was all. I slowly reached my hand out to him and said, "Look, I'm sorry. I was wrong and you were right. I didn't know this would happen. Could you ever forgive me?" He looked at me for a second, looking into my eyes almost like trying to find out if I was sincere. Then he took my hand and slowly shook it, giving me a little smile. "Can't be mad forever. I forgive you."

I smiled happily. It felt really good to get that off my chest, and maybe he could even be my friend from now on. I looked at his arm, which was now kind of curled to his side. "Is there anything I could do to help?" He shook his head. "I don't think so. I just have to wait for it to heal, I guess. A strange clear juice squirted out of my arm when it got hurt and it stung really badly. I don't know what it was."

I heard some rustling outside. I was about to get up and see what it was, but the boy with the cut eye said, "No, your leg is hurt. I'll check it out." I have to admit, he really was a bit of a ladies' man. Comforting girls and offering to do things for them.

He got up and quietly ran to one of our entrances, looking out and groaning. "It's one of those filthy Oranges. What is he looking for in the grass?" He looked back at us, a twinkle in his eye. "It's the first orange guy who sprouted, and he's all alone! I should go and pay him a... visit."

The other girl Pink gasped and said, "Tauri, no! Hasn't there been enough fighting already?" But it was too late, he was already climbing down the stilt. Okay, so besides being a ladies' man he had a preoccupation with vengeance. That was the Orange I wanted to talk to and I didn't remember seeing him fight at all. He couldn't be bad!

Seeing no other way to stop him, I did my best to stand and I half-ran and half-limped over to the exit. As I looked down I realized that I was a little afraid of heights, but I didn't know what else to do. "No! Don't tell me you're going to help him! Please don't!" cried the other girl. "Don't worry, I won't," I said as I began to climb down. I slid down easily and landed on the ground with my good foot, then I heard a "Hey, you!" in the grass.

I ran as best I could toward the sound of struggling and saw the Pink on the ground, wrestling with the Orange. "No, stop it! Stop it right now!" I yelled. "Go back home, I got it under control," the Pink yelled back. He was now on top of the Orange and about to punch him so I dived at him quickly and knocked him off. The Orange quickly scrambled to his feet and picked up a weird yellow liquid, then he ran away.

He moaned and pushed me off of him, then he sat up and said, "Why? Why did you stop me? I could have gotten rid of him right there." I was about to say something, but he suddenly swung around and punched me right in the face. I squeaked in surprise and fell backwards into a puddle of the weird yellow liquid. I couldn't believe he did that to me! But more than that, I couldn't believe how much it hurt!

I looked up at him with a bewildered expression on my face, and he looked just as shocked as I was. "I... I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"he stuttered. He reached down to me, concerned now. I rubbed my really sore face and took his hand. He helped me to my feet and suddenly hugged me. "I didn't mean it, I REALLY didn't mean it! I was just so..." I hugged him back. "It's okay, don't worry... it isn't half as bad as yesterday, eh?"

He broke the embrace and smiled at me, then he looked at the strange yellow liquid on the ground. "What IS that stuff?" he asked. He bent down and scooped up a handful of it. "Mmm, it smells really good, whatever it is. I wonder..." He hesitated for a second, then he put the strange goo into his mouth and his eye nearly shone with happiness.

"Hey, you HAVE to try this! It's SO good!" he said quickly just before he began to stuff even more of it into his mouth. It did look good but I didn't want to become an addict or something. He quickly slurped it up then suddenly stopped. "Hey, what...? I feel... weird..." I squeaked in worry as he closed his eye and suddenly fell to the ground, the sweet goo on his hands and around his mouth. What was I supposed to do now??

I ran to his side and tried to pick him up but I was too weak to do this on my own. I climbed up the stilt as quickly as I could, ignoring the flaming pain in my leg as I called out to the other two Pinks. They looked down at me curiously. "Quick, come down, he needs help! I don't know what happened!" The girl pink choked and tears began to well up in her blue eyes again. "Ohhh no, Tauri! I'm coming!"

She came down as quickly as she could. I told the other one to stay where he was, he wouldn't be able to help much with one arm. She cried over her friend for a few seconds before practically yelling at me to help carry him. She really cared about him. It was a bit of a struggle, but she tried climbing with her hands and holding onto him with her feet while I painfully had to hold him up with my arms and climb with my feet. It was awkward, definitely, but we got him safely into our home.

We didn't know what happened to him or what was going on. We bought him to the back of our home and looked him over.

"What is this," asked the boy Pink with the hurt arm as he pointed at the sticky yellow goo around the other's mouth. "I don't know, an Orange had it. He carried off a lot of it but left some behind by mistake," I replied. "I bet it was poison or something! I hate those stupid Oranges even more!" yelled the hysterical girl Pink beside me. "That filthy Orange put it there to trick us, I bet!"

I was afraid that she would begin to go crazy or something, but then something strange started to happen that made us all go silent. His, the Pink on the floor, leaf glowed brightly and we couldn't see anything for a few seconds. When the glow died down his leaf was gone, replaced with a new and pretty white flower. Besides that, he seemed to have gotten a little bigger and his injuries were completely healed. We all stared in disbelief, wondering what just happened.

Things just keep getting more and more interesting around here.


	5. Chapter 5 Blossoming Feelings

The flower Pink, the girl one, shook her head and grinned as though I said something amusing. "It isn't anything to worry about, young ones. You have merely discovered some nectar. But it really shouldn't be eaten in such large servings," she said as she glanced over at our new flower Pink, I guess his name was Tauri. "Nectar is very healthy and nutritious. It can turn little Pinks like you into full-grown Pinks like me and our little friend here. Even I am surprised that it can have such effects like this," she said as she looked over Tauri's eye. The flower Pink said earlier that his injury was so bad that he would never see out of that eye again, yet it was healed and nothing looked wrong.

A Pink jumped up and squealed, "We'll be healed in seconds! Maybe we'll also be really powerful and we can beat those Oranges!" Most of the crowd became excited at the thought of defeating the Oranges and several murmurs were heard.

"No." Everybody stopped and looked up at the flower Pink. "But... but we should get rid of them, they're the enemy! They hurt us for no reason at all!" Said the same Pink. Another Pink said, "No, they hurt us because some idiot called their leader a pollen-head!" Several gasps were heard. I didn't know what kind of terms they were coming up with while they were gone, but I guess pollen-head is a mean name they just came up with.

She shook her head and said, "Listen, all of you. Yesterday's fight was nothing. The Oranges are our allies and we all work with the Leaders, whether we like it or not. It is their decision and their decision alone as to what will happen to us. If they wanted us to be separated then we would be. If we cannot be friends with the Oranges then we will at least be co-workers. Don't talk to them if you don't want to, that's all there is to it. Understand?"

More murmurs went through the crowd. She was quite the leader. She was smart, which is more than I can say for most of the others. All they want to do is fight. I can't help but feel that it is all my fault. Maybe if I didn't try to talk to that Orange we would be getting along.

It was getting late. My second night of life. I wondered what the next days would bring. We were getting ready for sleep again and this time I was going to sleep with my three new friends. Tauri was happy with his new flower and size. He spent a good few minutes flexing his arms to the other females. Yes, he was a little immature. But it was good to see that nothing could sway his normally good mood.

His good friend, the other girl Pink, also had a name. They decided to name each other and she called him Tauri. He called her Misty, which was a pretty name. My other friend didn't have a name and neither did I. Maybe we could name each other later. Our mother-figure, the original flower Pink, I had no idea if she had a name. Nobody ever asked. She was going to sleep in the middle of the floor as a kind of way to watch everybody.

It wasn't long before everybody was sound asleep. Everybody, except me. I was so restless and I didn't know why. I thought I heard Misty talking in her sleep but it was gibberish. I sighed and shifted around uncomfortably. I didn't know what it was but things just didn't feel right. Things never were right, I guess, but this is different.

I froze and listened carefully. I thought I heard something outside. I heard it again. It was kind of like whistling but nothing like the Green or Yellow Leaders' whistles. I carefully and quietly got up, walking over to the nearest exit and being careful not to step on anybody. Ten new Pinks sprouted today, which put us up to twenty-four. I got down on my hands and knees then looked down to see if there was something there. Boy, was I surprised.

"Excuse me? Hello?" said a little voice from below me. I couldn't believe he would come back. The first Orange. Brave or stupid, I didn't know. I hesitated for a moment, but this was my chance to finally make peace with him and the others. Maybe if I made friends with him then the Oranges and Pinks would no longer hate each other. I smiled down at him and began to make my way down the stilt. I slid down as quietly as possible and landed with a little thud on my good foot. I still didn't heal it, maybe I hurt it more than I thought. At least my eye was okay now.

I held onto the stilt for support. He smiled back at me and walked over. He seemed a little shy. He wouldn't really look me in the eye for a minute or two.

"Uh... um, hello... I... we've met before... do you, uh... remember me?" he said nervously. He looked at the ground as he tried to talk to me. Up close, he was... kind of cute. "Yes, I remember you very well," I say to him nicely. His cheeks looked a little redder than normal. Was something wrong with him? "Yeah... I remember you too... you saved me from that, uh, angry Pink guy..." I nodded. "Yes. His name is Tauri. He didn't really mean anything, honest... he just thought he was protecting us." "I see..."

He continues to watch the ground, squeezing his own hands as though to reassure himself. He really is shy. "I... just wanted to th... thank you... if you didn't show up, well... who knows what might have happened?" I feel my own face becoming a little warmer than usual. "No problem, really... I've been meaning to ask you something." He looked up at me, his face becoming a little redder. "Y... yes?" I looked up at my home. "What were you doing today in the grass? I never thought an Orange would come over here alone." He laughed nervously. "Well, I thought all of the Pinks were with Green Leader. I really didn't expect to be jumped like that. Well, you see..."

He walked past me and into a little patch of grass. I watched curiously as he began to tug and pull up several blades of grass. He grunted and pulled extra hard on a handful of grass. When it finally came lose he fell backwards and squeaked in surprise. I didn't know pulling up grass could be so hard. Then where he pulled up the tough grass, something began to leak out of the ground. It rushed up to form a big puddle of the strange yellow goo from earlier today.

He sat up and smiled. "This stuff is really good for you. We discovered it yesterday on our way back home after that fight. Some of the other Oranges were so mad that they began to rip up the grass in frustration. And when they did this yellow stuff showed up! When we drank it we all became healed and most of us became flowers. I didn't though, I wasn't hurt so I didn't feel the need to drink any."

I nodded sagely. He knew more than me already and I've been around for a little longer. This certainly explained how he knew about the yellow goo and why he came here this morning. I was glad he came over again, he was really nice. I think we could be really good friends.

He picked up a handful of the yellow goo and walked over to me. "I couldn't help but notice that you're hurt. Here, have this." I shook my head. "I don't really need it. It's just a little sprain. Besides, I don't want to get hooked on it. My friend Tauri drank a lot today and fainted. He turned out to be okay but he was drinking a lot really quickly. No, thank you." He nodded and put it back in its puddle.

"Pardon me, Miss, but... do you have a name?" I shook my head and replied, "No, do you?" He grinned sheepishly. "Me neither. Some of the other Oranges are naming themselves and I couldn't think of anything." I smiled. I was kind of glad to see that somebody else didn't have a name yet. So far, most of the Pinks have named eachother. I know when somebody is talking to me because they just yell "hey, you!". I wondered if it was the same for my new Orange friend.

He held his hand out to me. "Would you... like to take a walk?" I smiled and held out my own hand. He took it gently and smiled at me. He was so nice. His smile reminded me of Green Leader. I let go of the stilt, momentarily forgetting about my sprained ankle and nearly falling, but he caught me. I grinned in embarrassment, wondering how I forgot about my leg. As I looked up at him I realized how breathtaking he looked in the soft moonlight, his pale orange skin flawless and his beautiful eyes. I didn't know what this feeling was, but I didn't want the moment to end.

He carefully helped me to my feet. I gingerly tried to put some weight on my sprained foot. It hurt a little, but I wanted to walk with him. Almost as though he read my mind, he suddenly picked me up. I squealed in surprise and looked at him with wide eyes. He grinned sheepishly, seeming to be caught off guard by his own action. Spur of the moment, I guess. But I didn't really mind. His strong yet gentle arms were also reminding me somewhat of Green Leader.

He carried me to the top of a little hill where the grass was thinner not very far from my home. He carefully set me down in such a way that it looked like he was almost afraid of dropping and breaking me. Then he sat down beside me and looked ahead, seeming to be struggling with his thoughts. Like the flower Pink said, we're two different worlds. I guess I can accept that, but it looks like he's still afraid of us. I want all of us to get along and I think he does too. Why else would he come over here, right into a danger zone? I must get him and the flower Pink to talk with eachother. Or would that be another mistake? I guess I won't know until I try... later.

I really did want to talk to him but even I didn't know what to say anymore. But I didn't have to because he began to talk first. "They're so beautiful, aren't they?" I looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. He was leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky. I looked up as well and smiled at the tiny lights hanging above us. I never saw the sky at night before and it truly was amazing. I wondered what those little lights were. Some were faint and some were very bright and there were so many of them. It kind of reminded me of us Pinks and Oranges in a group.

"I've never seen those before... they are beautiful," I said in a distant voice. I just wanted to watch them all night with him. I wondered how much longer the night would be. I took my eyes away from the sky for a moment to take in my surroundings. Besides us, I've never seen another living creature in this area. Where could they be?

We sat in silence for quite some time, enjoying each other's presence. The moon watched over us, almost as though saying that all was well. I laid down on the soft ground and almost immediately began to feel sleep overcome me. I fought back the sleep as best as I could. I knew I had to get back home. I wasn't sure if my Orange friend was still awake or not because I couldn't even hear his faint breathing anymore. I lost my fight with sleep and was soon cradled in the warm safety of my private darkness...


	6. Chapter 6 Caught

I hummed a happy little tune as I explored the area surrounding my home in the morning. My Orange friend was gone when I woke up but he stayed with me for at least a while. I knew that because the ground was disturbed as though he laid down beside me. He actually put some of the yellow goo on my foot and it was healed when I woke up. I guess it's nectar so that's what I'll call it from now on. He rubbed it into my skin. I thought I had to drink it for it to work but I guess not. At least I won't have to worry about becoming addicted to it.

The sun hasn't completely risen yet so nobody else has woken up yet either. We usually wake up at the first light of the sun but I woke up when a tiny, ugly little bug landed on my face and tickled me with his little wings. He just buzzed away into the distance. Maybe he just wanted to help me wake up, what a nice bug. I'm glad that he did. It is lovely to be alone right before dawn. I let my feet rest in some dew and absorbed it, refreshing me for a new day. Tiny almost invisible pores all over my body took in oxygen. My leaf also took in oxygen, along with the lovely sunlight. As long as I have air, water and sunlight I have almost limitless energy. I wonder how Green Leader and Yellow Leader could breath in those heavy looking suits. And how did they absorb water when their fingers and toes were all covered up? They are so strange.

As I walk around I pick up a few things. There are huge flowers everywhere with the strange pellets inside of them. There are other kinds too. Some flowers are white and fluffy and when you shake them tiny puffy things float off of it. Some flowers look like the sun because they are yellow and their petals look like tiny spikes or sun rays. But the flowers I am picking are tiny compared to these, but they're just the right size for me. I have several purple ones, cute little white ones with five petals each, even some of those fluffy white things that float through the air. But my favorite is a green thing with four leaves. I pick up a small, skinny blade of grass and wrap them around my flowers like a bouquet. I want to give them to Green Leader when he wakes up. I hope he likes them.

Right on cue, the door of his ship opens up. I am excited at the thought of being able to see Green Leader again, but... it isn't him. Quickly, I hide behind a nearby rock and watch as Yellow Leader emerges from the ship. Almost at the same time, the first light of the sun shines on us from behind a hill. But the sight of Yellow Leader makes it feel like a dark cloud is hanging over the area.

I thought that maybe Green Leader would come out right after Yellow Leader but... he didn't. My heart sank as I watched the door of the ship close with a loud creak. I haven't seen Green Leader for a day but it fells almost like forever. Why did he have to stay inside today? I don't want to be anywhere near Yellow Leader today. In fact, I never want to be around him! I remembered two days ago when I was born, he hurt a fellow Pink. I wondered what happened to her. Were there other small ones like her somewhere?

I quietly tried to sneak back home but Yellow Leader was too clever. He probably thought that a leaf moving without wind to help it was kind of strange. I thought I was okay, quietly making my way back home from behind some grass and short flowers so you can imagine how unexpected it was to feel something grab my stem and easily throw me some distance away from what hid me.

Thinking fast, I flipped in the air and landed unharmed on my feet. If only the small one did that, but she had no idea that Yellow Leader would hurt her. I quickly took in some air, not noticing that I screamed really loudly when I was thrown. I somehow managed to keep my bouquet, clutching it to my chest like it would save my life or something. Only to have it tugged rather rudely from my hands.

I looked up in surprise to see Yellow Leader standing over me and practically glared at my bouquet. It was almost as if he knew I made it for Green Leader. He said something to me in his strange language and stared down at me like he expected an answer. Then he ripped my flowers up right in my face.

I just stared up at him helplessly. I couldn't believe he did that! He smiled at the expression on my face, then he pushed me to the ground and kept on walking. I don't understand how somebody could be that cruel, what is wrong with him! I've been completely against violence ever since my incident with the Oranges, but my anger flared up even stronger than before. I probably would have started a really big argument if somebody had not stopped me.

I felt somebody touch my arm. I looked behind me and saw, guess who, Green Leader! I didn't notice him coming out of the ship. Actually, I didn't even notice that I was now standing and had my hands balled up into fists. In this case, definitely better late than never. My anger was quickly replaced with happiness when I saw him. It was great to see him again. But something about him was different. There were several strange marks all over his face, purple splotches. I didn't know if something was wrong or not but it kind of scared me. His lip looked like it was cut not long ago. I was definitely worried. "Are you okay?" I squeaked to him. Instead of answering me, he lightly nudged me toward my home. He smiled to me and said something but I couldn't understand him. Why won't he talk to me like normal?

He obviously wanted me to go back home so I did. I walked over and began to climb up one of the stilts. It sounded like something was going on in there. I looked down and watched as he and Yellow Leader walked away into a rocky area. I wanted so much to follow but Green Leader apparently didn't want me to. I looked on in sadness, then climbed inside. Everybody was awake and in a bit of a tizzy. Then somebody cried out, "There she is!" and all eyes were turned on me. I didn't know what was going on.

The flower Pink pushed her way through the crowd. It's hard to describe the look on her face. I guess you could call it a mixture of anger, disbelief and worry. I didn't know what was going on, I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.

She quickly walked over to me and pulled me toward the group, nearly yelling in my face, "What do you think you're doing?" She held onto my arm tightly and it hurt. I tried to pull away, saying, "What do you mean?" She pulled me closer to her face, her grip on my arm frighteningly tight and painful. It looked like everybody was mad at me.

"What were you doing last night, out THERE? You could have been hurt, or worse!" She was scaring the wits out of me now. "Wh-what are you talking about?" I squeaked in fear. She let go of me and shook her head in disappointment. "I know you're young, but I thought that even YOU would have enough sense to not go out alone, and at NIGHT." "But I wasn't alone," I blurted. "Well, nobody else was missing last night so who..." Her eyes widened.

Murmurs went through the crowd and some Pinks glared at me. Realization went through the crowd like wild fire. "You... went outside... with... one of them?" she said slowly and almost calmly. But I could see the look in her eyes and they weren't calm at all. I stood up straight and said, "Yes, I went outside with an Orange."

The crowd fell silent.


	7. Chapter 7 New Friends

I leaned against the stilt, quietly crying to myself and rubbing my injured arm. A couple Pinks literally threw me out of my home. I tried to flip in the air but I wasn't fast enough so I landed on my arm pretty hard. I don't think its broken but I won't be able to use it for a little while.

I couldn't believe they would throw me out like that. Like I was... garbage. Everybody started to yell at me and I didn't know what to do. But the flower Pink... she wouldn't even look at me. How could they hate the Oranges so much? My friend from last night didn't hurt anybody, he was really nice! He healed my foot! How could they think of him as bad at all?

I have been sitting here and crying for a while, I don't know how long for sure. I didn't know what to do. Before they learned about my Orange friend they thought it was bad that I went out alone, but why? There isn't anything dangerous here. And what can I do for a home now? I don't think they want me back...

I looked up when I heard footsteps. Green Leader and Yellow Leader were walking back to their ship, looking completely worn out. Yellow Leader was walking with a limp... what happened to them?

I chirped and stood up, running toward them. I wanted to follow them inside of their ship and see if they were okay, but they didn't notice me. The door of the ship closed again, leaving me all alone. I looked toward the rocky area and wondered if something bad was in there. Common sense probably should have told me to stay where I was, but a louder inner voice was too adventurous.

First, I walked toward a patch of grass. My Orange friend pulled up the grass and found that nectar, so why can't I? I used my good arm to try and pull up the grass but it was pretty hard. He struggled when he pulled on grass with nectar so I guess there's nectar here. I pulled harder and harder, then the grass came out and I fell on my back. Pulled a little too hard. I watched as some nectar formed a little pool. It wasn't much but I didn't need much anyways, so I rubbed the nectar into my arm and it slowly began to heal.

Strength renewed, I began to walk into the rocky area with nothing but endless courage. My leaf twitched slightly as though it were ready for action.

I walked through the area for a while, seeing nothing but nearly endless canyon. I was about to go back when I heard something like rocks falling. I wasn't sure if it was safe or not, but I pushed onward. More rocks fell, not far away from me. I looked up and I thought I saw a leaf for a brief second, but it disappeared over the ridge. Somebody was up there. Was it an Orange?

I began to climb up the steep rock wall, my fingers and toes carefully picking out which rocks would not fall under my weight. I made my way to the top and saw something truly strange.

Strange creatures, everywhere! Huge red bugs with white spots, some were black with red spots too. There were even miniature versions of these spotted bugs sniffing around the ground and occasionally nibbling on some grass. I noticed a couple of these bugs weren't moving, their eyes wide open and not breathing. It looked like there was a big fight here. Green and Yellow Leaders must have found these bugs and gotten in a big fight for some reason. They didn't look too harmful to me, but the really big bugs had huge teeth and they were kind of scary.

I heard a few squeaks nearby. They sounded like the squeaks that me and the other Pinks and Oranges make, but it was different. I then saw even smaller versions of the spotted bugs and they had leaves on their heads just like me! They were cute and didn't have big teeth like the others, so they weren't so scary. I began to walk toward them, until another bug jumped in my way and growled at me. It had a leaf on its head to, but it was way bigger than me!

I stood perfectly still and looked up at it. It still growled at me, looking even meaner than before and staring at me. After a few minutes it stopped growling and began to sniff me curiously. It poked my leaf with its nose a few times and continued to sniff me. It grunted and seemed to lose interest in me, thankfully. It walked back toward the other leafy bugs and began to sniff around the ground, maybe for something to eat.

I sighed in relief and sat down, watching them for a few minutes. They were interesting creatures for sure. I noticed that Pinks and Oranges were alike but different in small ways. These creatures were a lot different but had leaves just like us. Maybe they're like us Pinks and Oranges. Maybe they would let me join them, they didn't have anything against us Pinks as far as I could see. I hoped they didn't mind Oranges too.

I got up and walked toward them. One of them noticed me and squeaked, running over to me and sniffing me too. This must be their way of saying hello. I patted it on the head and it made a cute sound kind of like purring. Then others walked over to me and nuzzled me with their noses, swaying their leaves around happily. They didn't mind me at all, which made me happy.

Then the big one let out a roar. All of the tiny leafy bugs ran over to it. Their leader looked at me for a second then began to walk away, the little bugs following. One ran back and nudged me. Did it want me to follow?

I began to follow them, the little bug staying by my side the entire time. It wasn't like the others, it only had a single white spot on its back. I decided to simply call it Spot.

We walked on for a while until we came to a crystal clear pond of water. The leader roared again and the little bugs began to roam around on their own, resting and drinking the fresh water. It was nice to be with them. They never got in fights with each other or with the other bugs, even though their colors and sizes were clearly different. They were good. I wish the Pinks and Oranges were as peaceful as they were.

I sat by the waters edge and let my feet dangle in, taking in the pure cool water and reenergizing myself. They were other creatures swimming around in the water too. One creature was scaly and had a big mouth. It sniffed at me and I thought I'd be okay, but it suddenly opened its big mouth and snapped at me! Thankfully, the leader of the little bug group snatched me up in its own mouth gently. It set me down beside it and got in a growling and roaring contest with the strange water creature, as though threatening it to stay away.

The water creature grunted irritably, then swam away. I guess the leafy bugs did accept me after all! The leader nudged me gently and felt around my body with its leaf, cooing soothingly and checking for injuries. When it was satisfied, it walked away and began to sniff around the ground again.

I was grateful to have these strange creatures around. They accepted me as one of their own and even saved my life. I needed some time away from the Pinks and their prejudice anyways. I think I'm going to be okay.


	8. Chapter 8 Nightmare

_I'd just like to say a quick hello and a very big thank you to my reviewers. GameTrekker, A. Nonymous, Electric Ammo 77, Doshi, This Story Lover and, yes, even J... without you guys and your kindness this story probably wouldn't be continuing._

_GameTrekker, you scared me with your review! The abilities you guessed for my Pikmin and the purpose of the Bulbmin was really close. I'm telling you, you can read my mind! But, I must admit, the suggestions for the Orange Pikmin's abilities were completely different from my ideas but way better! But, yes, their feet are spade-like and, as seen below, flat enough to be used like razor blades. Your ideas for the Pink was almost dead-on and they do have other abilities, which should be revealed soon during battle. Oranges have other abilities too. And your review was by far the best, most helpful and maybe even the nicest I've ever gotten in my entire life! I really look forward to reading more in your story too. :)_

_Did you know that Pikmin can reproduce without use of the Onion? That's why I gave them genders. When a large number of Pikmin die they sometimes leave behind seeds. Interesting, no?_

_I guess that was longer than a quick hello, huh;) Enjoy the next chapter of Our Fair Leader!_

-

I lost track of time pretty quickly. It was already becoming night and we were still by the pond. Spot had laid down beside me and made a big sleepy yawn. It settled into a comfy position and leaned on me slightly. Spot was nice and warm, its skin smooth and soft too. I laid down beside it. The grass there was also soft. It wasn't long before all of the bugs began to get sleepy. Everybody came over to me and Spot, laying down in a group and sharing body heat. It was getting chilly. It was always warm at home. The leader of the bugs looked around the area one last time then settled down near us as well. It let out a mighty yawn and closed its eyes, falling asleep very quickly. I felt sleep begin to take over me as well. I closed my eyes and felt slumber begin to work its magic...

_A loud roar. Screams of pain and confusion. I could only look on in horror from my hiding spot behind a rock. Red liquid spurted from a wound in the bug leader's side as it screeched in pain, swinging its leaf and knocking an Orange into a rock so hard that his head split open. Yellow Leader kept throwing Oranges at the bug leader, the smaller bugs running around in fear and being mercilessly slaughtered. Spot began to run toward me, tears streaming down its face. Then an Orange jumped at it and sliced through its sensitive flesh and it slumped to the ground, its eyes frozen in terror._

_Why is this happening? Why?_

_The bug leader roared and lunged at the Oranges, catching a few and beginning to crunch on them. I listened to their dying cries and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the horrible sounds. This can't be happening. Please, no!_

_I looked up when the bug leader let out one final cry of agony and fell to the ground, the red liquid forming a pool around its body. The young bugs had all been killed and there were few Orange survivors. Their bodies littered the battlefield, petals and leaves scattered along with other gruesome body parts._

_Why didn't I jump out and help them? Why didn't I help them when they accepted me and protected me? Why why WHY? I knew that the Oranges would have killed me without thinking twice and they would feel no remorse, but I should have done something!_

_I squealed in surprise as I was suddenly knocked onto the ground. I looked up and saw an Orange standing over me. Their feet were big and flat. So flat that the tips of their feet were like razor blades. I never noticed before but it was too late to think any longer as he raised his foot and brought it down upon me in a life ending swoop._

_And Yellow Leader only laughed._

I screamed and jerked from my sleep, waking up a couple of the little bugs by mistake. Was it morning already? I was gasping now, the dream had scared me so bad. Why was all of that happening, what could have brought a horrible dream like that?

Spot whimpered and nuzzled me. I hugged Spot and said, "I'm sorry, and I'm okay. Don't worry." The little creature seemed worried about me. It licked my face and whimpered again. A couple other bugs did the same. It looked like they were trying to comfort me. I smiled and hugged some of them, touched by their concern. If only the Pinks and Oranges were a little more like them.

The bug leader walked over to me, cooing and checking me with its leaf again. I suddenly had a funny thought; do bugs have dreams too?

When the leader was satisfied, it looked up at the sky and began to sniff the air. The smaller bugs began to imitate the leader's behavior. The younger ones must learn by imitation more than instinct. It gave a mighty roar and began to walk towards a scent of some kind. My sense of smell isn't very sharp so I don't know what it could be looking for. The smaller bugs began to follow the leader, as did I.

I guess I never took the time to really look at my surroundings. I've noticed big changes in landscape but I'm not very good with small details. Looking up, I can only guess that we are in a forest or wooded area of some kind. Huge trees hover over us, letting the sunlight trickle through the leaves in ever-changing rays of light. A light wind make the light and shadows shift and change like an enigmatic dance. The pond that we are leaving behind is alive with several tiny creatures flitting to and fro. Tiny fish and plants alike, living in perfect harmony. Such deep thoughts tend to cloud my mind so I try not to think too much.

The bug leader sniffs the air as we go along, walking through short fuzzy grass on a marched path lined with tall flowers of all kinds. Sometimes we come to huge growths that look like bushes of some kind with tiny flowers growing here and there. The path soon ends and we come to a more open area where the trees shade fail to reach. The grass is more yellow, baking in the sun. We have come to the area where I first met these wonderful creatures.

But... it isn't quite what I remember. Definitely not what I remember.

The red liquid. Small ponds of it everywhere. The dead bodies. The poor slaughtered bugs are all gone, looking as though they had been dragged away and down into the canyon-like ditch that ran through the ground like a scar.

No. This can't be real. Am I dreaming again?

The bug leader gaped at the scene before us and the little bugs huddled into a close group, afraid. The leader looked back and growled something then it slowly made its way onto the crime scene alone. Slowly, sniffing the air, leaf raised, checking for the slightest hint of danger. Its leaf twitched and the leader then stood perfectly still. It must have detected something.

I didn't see or hear anything but I definitely felt something in the air. The little bugs began to tremble in fear.

Then I heard a familiar sound. A whistle. The piercing shriek came from somewhere in the ditch. Then, a rain of Pinks and Oranges flew over the ledge and the bug leader braced itself for a fight.

It seemed like my nightmare was about to become reality. But it can't! They couldn't have killed all the other bugs, my fellow Pinks and Oranges could never be that cruel and heartless!

... could they?


	9. Chapter 9 Changing Fate

The first attack. The Pinks were ordered to hang back and the Oranges where commanded to run full-speed at the bug leader. The bug leader snarled viciously and whipped its leaf around. It sure looked threatening but I had a feeling that it really didn't want to fight. When I compare the leader to these baby bugs beside me, I can't believe that they'll grow so big and become that mean-looking.

The Oranges scattered and ran behind the bug leader, slipping their flat feet under it and flipping it easily with their combined strength. It landed with a thud and a complaining yelp.

"Cory, now!"

Green Leader and Yellow Leader jumped out from their hiding spot and threw a net over the bug leader. It screamed in panic and thrashed around. That was when the Pinks rushed in to hold the bug leader down. Us Pinks have small sharp claws on our hands which are actually made of our hardened roots. That's why we only absorb water with our feet. As I have experienced before, us Pinks also have a superior grip. With these little claws and good grip, those Pinks would be able to keep down the bug leader until it tired itself out.

Something terrible happened in my dream. What if it was telling me what was going to happen in the future? No! I can't let that happen! But what could I do?

I didn't want anybody to see us, I quickly ran over to a thick patch of grass and looked at the little bugs. They all stared at me fearfully, thinking I was going to abandon them.

Then I remembered when the bug leader sniffed the air, the little bugs imitated it. That was how they learned. When Green Leader or Yellow Leader wanted us to go to them they called for us by whistling. Maybe I could learn from them too.

I tried to make a low whistle but they didn't seem to be able to hear it over the struggle nearby. I really didn't want to do it, but I wanted to save those little bugs! I sucked in a big breath and made a shriek of a whistle, almost similar to Green Leader's actually. The little bugs jumped and ran over to me, hiding behind me and trembling. It worked! I can only hope that nobody saw us...

Spot squealed and looked up at me with big eyes. It continued to squeak as though trying to tell me something. The other little bugs seemed to agree with it. One bug flailed around its leaf and growled, imitating the bug leader. Did they want to protect their leader? Then the other bugs began to do it as well.

I remembered how Green Leader threw the first Orange on a flower to get that strange pellet the other day, and he just threw those other Oranges and Pinks to get over the ledge. Maybe I could imitate the Leaders that way as well. I could only hope that I was strong enough to be able to throw one of these bugs.

They didn't bring everybody. I counted fifteen Pinks and Oranges in total and there were fifteen of these little bugs. Perfect. I didn't want to hurt anybody, only daze them or knock them out. Then we could save the bug leader!

The bug leader began to show signs of exhaustion, so I had to work fast. I quickly ran over to a patch of grass closer to the others, the little bugs following me. I carefully picked up one of the bugs and aimed carefully at... gulp... the flower Pink. If she saw me do this then she would NOT be happy is all I can say.

I put just enough force into my throw. She didn't see it coming. The little bug flew through the air with a heroic squeak and landed on the flower Pink's back, knocking the wind out of her and putting her out of work temporarily. The other Pinks stared, baffled, then a rain of the little bugs came. A couple of them I missed, but then all of the thrown bugs began to chase the remaining Pinks and Oranges around. It was comical, in a way, to see how the mighty had fallen. Defeated by cute baby insects.

Yellow Leader looked absolutely furious, but Green Leader seemed to share my exact feelings at that time. It was shocking and funny at the same time, he must have known that nothing was really hurt. Well, except for their pride.

The bug leader reared up and roared in fury, throwing off the net and towering over Yellow Leader and glaring at him. Yellow Leader took a step backward. "Uh... nice bug?" The bug leader roared loudly in his face and snatched him up in its jaws, then threw him some distance away into the grass. I'll never forget the look on Yellow Leader's face, or that loud scream of his. Green Leader tried to hide his grin.

The bug leader roared again and the little bugs gathered around it, cheering over their victory and almost glowing with pride. Their leader was safe. I felt very relieved and a little surprised that I did that to fellow Pinks and Oranges.

Well, they deserved it anyways. Especially the guys who threw me out of the house. Thankfully, my friends weren't in the group.

I was about to go out of my hiding spot but stopped myself right in time. No way would I want them to know that I had anything to do with this! Well, at least the bug leader and its small herd came to me instead of me going to them. Spot squealed in happiness and knocked me to the ground, licking my face with affection. The other little bugs purred and squeaked, hopping around me as though thanking me. The bug leader was grateful as well, giving me a big lick on the face. I was afraid it would eat me by mistake!

I had managed to save them this time but what if the Leaders decided to try it again? I thought about my dream and realized that it was different. I don't remember any Pinks or Green Leader. But all other details seem to have escaped me... I can only hope that this dream would never come true.

I wasn't sure, but it looked as though Green Leader and Yellow Leader were only trying to capture the bugs. In my dream, they were killed senselessly. I could only wonder if I had brought such a fate by saving the bug leader this time.

The bug leader began to walk away and its little followers went as well. I was about to follow them, soon finding myself in a position I thought was only in my nightmare.

I was knocked to the ground rather rudely and flipped onto my back. And not only was it an Orange who attacked me, it was the Orange who attacked me the day I just wanted to talk to my friend. He glared at me.

"I should have known it was you, Pinky. You ALWAYS mess everything up. Are you purposely trying to make us look like idiots?"

Like my nightmare, he raised his foot and I saw the sharp edge of his foot gleam in the light.

"Well, we soon won't have that problem anymore."


	10. Chapter 10 Disaster In Paradise

I braced myself for death but it never came. There were several shrieks and the Orange got bowled over by all fifteen angry, snapping bugs. They were trying to protect me! He crawled out from under the little bugs and tried to get away but he was soon pinned to the ground by the bug leader. It snarled and opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs. I never saw them before.

"No"

The bug leader looked back at me, slightly confused.

"Please, don't eat him! He didn't hurt me or anybody else."

The bug leader stared at me and looked down at the Orange who was now shaking with fear. The bug leader grunted and released him hesitantly. The Orange whimpered and scrambled to his feet. He glared at me with such hatred... if looks could kill.

"Don't let this go to you head, Pinky, we'll be back for you and your little friends. Count on it."

Then he ran back to the other Oranges.

What he said ran through my head several times. We'll be back for you and your little friends... too late was it realized that I made a huge mistake. My horrible dream... it will only happen because I tried to do something in the first place. It was all my fault.

"No..." I squeaked as I slowly sank to the ground, the realization overwhelming me. I think they really were only intending to capture the bugs. The innocents who had been killed before us resisted. We resisted. We're next.

"Please, no..."

It was at that moment that I felt my life come to a turning point already. I have only been alive a couple of days and already I have learned so much. I felt that I had to stay with these insect creatures and do all that I could to protect them. I would soon begin to learn my leadership skills, starting with these creatures.

The bug leader led us back to the pond, where they seem to call their home. I must become more familiar with my surroundings if I want to survive. Back home I had a shelter and other Pinks to protect me. I didn't really have to worry about anything except for Yellow Leader. Out here with these bugs, I have more to worry about. I don't have shelter and the leader protects us all. The younger bugs can overpower enemies in large numbers but they can't be depended on entirely. Not until they grow older and stronger. For basic survival I have what I need, sun, air and plenty of water. But what if we came across more battles and challenges? I have never fought, really. I had others fight for me so far. What would I do if the bugs weren't there to protect me? What if a large predator came along and I had nothing to defend myself with? I can't let that happen.

I know that I have better endurance than, let's say, the Oranges. My eyes have a protective layer that shields against water, dust, strong winds, pretty much anything actually. I can see far distances as well. With my good grip I am able to climb steep walls and surfaces. These skills will be vital to my survival but I need more.

For an entire week I have studied the bug leader closely. My sense of smell isn't very sharp but perhaps other things could make up for that. Us Pikmin, our leaves, flowers and buds are sensitive. I have taken a day or two to learn how to detect danger from watching the bug leader. I raise my leaf and look for changes in temperature and wind. My sensitive feet can pick up even the smallest tremor in the ground and I can tune in to sounds if I focus on what I can't hear. I know it sounds strange but it works.

By the end of my long and hard week of training I have learned much. Thankfully, we have encountered few challenges and all challenges have been scared off by the bug leader. The bug leader never really fights, only intimidates its opponents. I must learn this skill as well. When I look at my reflection in the water I don't look very threatening at all, a cute little pink creature with an adorable leaf and big blue eyes. Would you be scared of me?

Well, I notice that the bug leader whips around its leaf. I could do that at least. If I firmly stand my ground and flex my small claws I am at least prepared for an attack. If only I could somehow convince one of the bugs to help me practice, but I can't understand their cute language.

That was, until my little accident.

It was nine days after our encounter with the Leaders and my fellow Pikmin that we were attacked by something. I don't quite know how to describe it. As usual, we were all following the bug leader around in search for food. The younger bugs ate small plants while the bug leader, much to my disgust, ate the water creatures. It ate small fish and an occasional tadpole, but it seemed to be on an equal level with the creature who tried to eat me the day I joined the bugs.

The red liquid had long gone from the earth and the once dead area was once again teeming with life. I was happy to see that the bugs would try not to let anything faze their lives. So many of the bugs had died but they kept coming back. I admired them that way.

The bug leader let the younger ones roam the grassy field on their own. They never traveled too far, just far enough so that they were within running distance if something bad happened. The bug leader seemed to be making friends with another bug. The second bug seemed to be the same kind as the bug leader and they were rubbing their leaves together affectionately. It was really cute and it made me think of the night I spent with the first Orange... I missed him a lot now that I think about it. When I thought about home I only thought about the Pinks and the rivalry, but I had somehow forgotten the good things. My friends... what if I never saw them again?

I sighed and laid back on the grass, looking up at the sky. The sky was a very bright blue and cute puffy white clouds gently floated by. They reminded me of the fluffy white things that feel off of a certain kind of flower. Are clouds made up of lots of those fluffy things? I bet a cloud would be really soft and comfy.

Then a scream.

The ground shook violently and I got up as fast as I could. I couldn't believe my eyes. Hundreds of bugs were running around in a panic as something huge stood in the middle of a field. I didn't know what it was. It had the head of a bird. The head had huge round eyes that were completely black and shiny, making me think of two beetles. The fur was wild and there were long stringy feathers on the very top of the head. The beak was long and yellow and the tip was red like the horrible liquid that game from the bugs when they were hurt.

The creature had a long and skinny neck covered in shiny bluish-green scales. The neck seemed to continue on and on, making up a really long serpent body and tail. There were strange growths on either side of its body like deformed wings and further down the body looked like tiny legs. Of course, they were too small to be of any use.

The creature screamed to the sky and lunged at the ground where several confused bugs were scattering and tripping over each other in panic. It speared a huge red bug with white spots and I saw the red liquid gush from the poor bug's body. It hadn't even the time to scream out in pain as it was killed almost immediately. Then the horrible serpent tossed the bug into the air and caught it again, swallowing it whole.

I was too frightened to even move. I couldn't understand how such a creature even existed. I snapped out of it when Spot ran into me, squealing in horror and urging me to run. I got to my feet and looked around. The bug leader's friend was gone and the bug leader was roaring. Its herd was running back into the grass, I think they were returning to the pond. And I couldn't help but notice how close the monster was getting to the bug leader. Too close.

Not even thinking, I rushed toward the bug leader and jumped at it. Caught off guard, I had managed to knock over the bug leader and it rolled away a bit before realizing what happened. But I didn't see what else happened.

The blinding pain.

I was now caught in the monster's beak, feeling my life being crushed from my body.


	11. Chapter 11 The Voice

I couldn't breath. I tried to scream but no air came in or out of me. My mind screamed in terror and pain and I soon couldn't see anymore. I didn't know what was happening anymore. I was dying.

My senses became duller and duller until most of the world had slipped away. But then a little voice. Was it calling to me?

"Friend."

That was all I heard. That little voice calling out over and over again.

"Friend."

I felt the painful grip around my midsection go away and the whoosh of air rushing past me. I wasn't sure what happened. I couldn't hold onto even the tiniest thought anymore but the word called out for me.

"Friend! Friend"

The air stopped rushing past me and I was soon laying on something smooth like a leaf. The sounds slowly came back to me. I could hear a dull sound like something heavy running. I also heard several murmurs but I couldn't make sense of any of it. It was just too much. I fell into unconsciousness and knew no more.

I woke up some time later. It was morning when it all happened but the sky was now orange with the oncoming night. My tired eyes watched the sky for a second and slipped shut. I could hear sounds around me like several voices talking but my hearing wasn't very good at the time. It was like I had water in my head.

But one word did slip through to me.

"Friend"

I struggled to open my eyes and saw somebody standing over me, eyes full of concern. The other voices had stopped and several eyes were on me now. I knew I couldn't move before I tried.

"Friend, are you alright? Are you hurt bad"

I looked up at him and tried to smile. I was too weak to smile very much though.

"I'll be okay... Spot..."

-

_Not much of a chapter, more of a teaser. Nasty little thing, aren't I?_


	12. Chapter 12 Morning Bliss

I hadn't realized at the time how strange my situation really was. I nearly died, having been practically crushed by that serpent monster, watched many innocent bugs be killed, watched my short life flash before my eyes in a few seconds and I would probably never move again for the rest of my life. On top of that, I was talking to one of the bugs like nothing happened. Like this kind of event wasn't unnatural. What I wanted to know was how could I understand them? Did they suddenly learn to talk or did I finally learn to listen?

But... at the time, I really didn't care. All that mattered to me was that I was with friends who cared. And I guess that's all that really mattered anyways. Being surrounded by friends who care about you when you're down. I couldn't ask for more, really.

Judging by the pitches of their voices and their behaviors it would be easy to tell which bug is male or female. Not only that, but if some bug tried to eat me again I could just tell him to buzz off.

I wanted to get up. I wanted to know if everybody was alright and I wanted to know what happened to that serpent creature, but Spot wouldn't let me move.

"No, friend, you are hurt bad. I know you are hurt. Please do not get up, you need rest. Much rest."

He gently rubbed my forehead with his leaf and tried to make me comfortable by bringing me soft grass and making a bed of some kind. He gently laid me on the bed and it was clear that he was eager to help me. I appreciated everything he did. He brought me water all through the night. I'm not sure if the poor guy got any sleep at all. I still had not seen the bug leader yet and I was worried about it.

The next day I woke up to something tickling my face. I opened by eyes and saw a tiny bug perched on my face.

"Well hello, little guy. I remember you."

The bug looked right at me and buzzed like he was saying hello back, then he flew away. What a nice bug. I should ask him to wake me up every day.

I tried to sit up, carefully pushing myself up with my arms. My body was still really sore and my head felt so weird. It still felt and sounded like I had water in my head. I tried to shake my head but got a painful headache from doing it. I looked around and couldn't help but gasp in amazement. The scene before me was literally breathtaking.

I have lived with the bugs here for almost a week and a half but never had I seen it like this. A gentle mist danced and swirled around us. The soft breathing of the sleeping bugs made the mist swirl away come back, swirl away and come back. The sun hadn't risen yet over the area. A small waterfall over the pond bubbled and played peacefully as the water creatures drifted in the crystal waters. A gentle breeze sent a chill up my spine and caused the leaves to whisper among themselves. The calling and singing of countless birds rose up in an orchestra above me. I looked off into the distance where the battle-scarred land was slowly healing itself. The events of hours past had left our reality but dwelled fresh in our minds. The horror was long gone and now slept in its own peaceful world somewhere far away from us.

The calm after the storm. All was right with the world.

I looked to my left and saw Spot, his body gently rising and falling with his breath. He was so innocent, so young, so... perfect. I doubted that anything could taint such a creature and hoped that nothing would.

I got up on my own and made my way to the water. It was a slow walk there but I eventually made it. I was in no rush anyways.

I sat by the waters edge and let my feet dangle into the cold water. The large water creature looked at me for a few seconds then swam away again. He must have known what I've been through. I looked at my reflection in the mirror surface. There was a dark purple ring shape going around my torso. It was painful to touch. I had tiny scratches all over my body but nothing too bad. My face and eyes said it all, how tired I was. I just wanted to lay down again and sleep for days.

I knew how tired I was when I had to catch myself from falling into the water. I definitely hadn't the energy to be out of bed.

Slowly, carefully, I stood up and looked at a tempting patch of grass nearby. If I got some nectar then I should be just fine. I began to walk toward the patch, the singing of the birds overhead making me think of angels. It was all I needed and I would be perfectly fine. But... I couldn't make it. My mind began to go dark again and I felt myself falling. But somebody caught me. I looked up and into the face of an Orange. I didn't have enough time to even see who it was before I fell into darkness again, my energy gone.


	13. Chapter 13 Kip

I moaned. I didn't know what was going on but I felt somebody touching my chest. They were wrapping something smooth around me. I gasped in pain when something around my torso tightened and crushed my purple area.

I opened my eyes and saw the Orange wrapping a rope around me. I never saw her before and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Whuh... what are you doing" I mumbled. She looked at me in sadness and whispered"I'm so sorry" then she finished the last knot and ran away.

It didn't take me long to realize that this wasn't right. Something was wrong. That Orange had tied me to a huge flower with red berries growing on it and had used braided blades of grass as a rope. She braided them very well like she's done it several times before. I knew that struggling wouldn't help. I considered using my claws but my hands were tied too.

Seeing no other way, I called out for help. I didn't see any of my bug friends so I didn't know what to expect. Bigger bugs would probably rather eat me than help me, so all I had to rely on was a bug with a good heart. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long.

Something was rustling around in the grass nearby. But was it friend or foe? The funniest-looking bug crawled out of the grass and gave me a funny look. His squishy body was yellow and his head was orange. He had little black eyes and whiskers on his face that looked like a mustache.

"Well well well, somebody tied to mah flower? What'cha doin' there, darlin'"

"Oh please, Mister Bug, untie me! My, um... friend tied me here as a prank and I can't get out of these ropes."

He clicked his tongue and looked me over.

"Well, I dunno... how do I know you're not after mah berries? Maybe I should just leave you there..."

"Oh no, Mister Bug, I'm not! Please, help me and I'll get those berries down for you. I won't take any"

His eyes lit up.

"Well, okay. I know a good deal when I hear one."

He crawled over to me and inspected the rope. The he took it into his mouth and snapped through it easily. I was free! It was a great relief to get that pressure off of my sore chest. I knew I was too weak to go climbing flowers in my condition so I ran over to some grass and began to pull it up.

"Hey, what'cha doin'? I kept mah end of the bargin', you keep yours"

I strained and finally pulled up a tough clump of grass. Nectar gushed out of the ground and nearly formed a small pond. I saw the effects nectar had on my friend Tauri, but I figured it might do a better job if I drank it this time. I dipped my finger into the sweet goo and tasted it. It was like the entire world suddenly just lit up! It was sooo good! I quickly lost control and began to drink it like it was going out of style or something. But I was too greedy and soon found that I could barely move anymore. I fell back on the grass, my belly full. The bug stood over me and tsk-tsked.

"Now lookit what you've done, you won't be able to walk fer days like that"

Then I felt really weird. My entire body began to tingle and I felt warm all over. The bug gaped at me and took several steps back.

"Whuh-what the"

I felt like I was lifting into the air and everything really did get brighter. My leaf felt almost like it exploded then the strange feelings went away.

I blinked in confusion and sat up. All of my cuts and my purple ring were gone now. And I had more energy than ever before! That nectar is really powerful. I wondered what happened to my leaf and pulled it down to inspect it. I couldn't believe it.

"A... a... flower"

I couldn't believe my eyes. A perfect, beautiful white flower had replaced my leaf. According to the flower Pink back home, that would mean I had matured. I was all grown up.

"Well, would you look at that..."

The bug crawled over to me and smiled.

"Right pretty flower ya got thar, Missy."

I felt unimaginable joy in that moment. I jumped up quickly and ran toward that flower. My new bug friend barely even saw me, I was so fast! I climbed up the flower with ease and knocked down those berries in seconds. I jumped down and smiled back, my blue eyes sparkling. He crawled over to the berries and licked his lips.

"Oh, how I've been lookin' forward to this! Thank ya, Miss, it saves me a lot of trouble"

I bowed to him, gracefully swishing around my new flower. I stood up straight and tilted my head at him.

"What is your name anyways, Mister..."

"Kip" he said to me between mouthfuls of berry. Kip. It was a cute name I thought, simple yet different. "And you, Missy? Do you have a name yerself" I shook my head. "No, Sir."

I then remembered the Orange from earlier. Why did she tie me up and what was she sorry for? That really troubled me. I had to find out where she ran off to.

"I have to go now, Kip. My... friend, I have to find her and make sure she didn't get lost or something."

He nodded and looked at me.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Miss. Perhaps we shall meet again, eh"

I thanked him again and ran off to find the Orange. I doubt she got that far, especially with so many hungry bugs around. The thought of her being caught and eaten twisted my stomach into a knot. I hoped she was okay.


	14. Chapter 14 Spot Light

I quickly ran back to the pond, only to find that all of my leafy friends were gone. They never just left me before, so something must have happened. That was when I smelled something. It was a very sweet scent, one that I had never smelled before. Perhaps my friends have all left to find the source of this aroma.

I walked toward the pond and looked out at the water creatures. maybe they could tell me where everybody went. I cupped my hands around my mouth and called out"Hey" The scaly water creature who tried to eat me once lifted its head and looked around.

"What? What's that? What do you want" she asked. She looked at me with her small, barely noticeable eyes and squinted at me.

"Oh, you crazy land-stander. What now? What now? Talk or talk no more"

She swam over to me and opened her mouth wide, threatening to eat me.

"Oh" I squealed as I fell backwards, afraid of her. She was way bigger than me and I didn't want to know what it would be like to be eaten"Please, don't eat me" I begged"I only wanted to ask you something"

She grunted and said"Fine, make fast. Me hungry, small one."

I shook a little. This water creature definitely scared me, I hoped she wouldn't try to eat me.

"Well, um... can you smell that? The sweet scent"

"Sweet scent? What sweet scent? Reeda smell no sweet, you crazy land-stander! Land-standers all crazy"

"No, um... did you see where the... other land-standers went"

"Land-standers? Crazy land-standers have funny look on face, run away. Crazy, all of you! Go join your brothers and sisters, crazy land-stander! Leave Reeda in peace"

The water creature, apparently named Reeda, jumped at me all of a sudden and head-butted me. She knocked me flat and snarled at me, then went back into the water. Reeda isn't the nicest person I've ever met, that's for sure.

So, they ran away. They must have been going after the scent after all, or were they running away from it? Reeda wasn't the most helpful person I've ever met either. Well, the scent was sweet to me so maybe they went towards it. Standing up, and inspecting my flower, I set off to follow the scent, wherever it may lead me.

I found myself running back to the field. Too many things happen here, I realize. It was eerily quiet. The bugs had disappeared, yet again, but there was no red liquid or sign of a struggle so that made me feel better. Maybe they didn't like to stay in the field before the sun came up, which should be very soon. It was rather chilly, now that I think about it. I wasn't totally sure where the scent was coming from, but the canyon was my first thought. Footprints in the grass seemed to confirm my hunch. The dirt around the canyon was a little disturbed, like the bugs slid down.

I was a little hesitant to slide down myself. I could try jumping down, I guess. Gathering up my courage, I take a running leap and flip gracefully in the air, making a perfect landing without getting hurt. I'm getting better at this. Is everybody this good, or just me? Well, on to the task at hand.

I wave around my flower to shake the dust and dirt off, then I begin to walk through the canyon. My flower picks up the scent easily and it slowly gets stronger and stronger. I hear a squeak somewhere ahead, but I can't tell if it's a Pikmin or one of my bug friends. I keep walking, feeling my courage slipping from me bit-by-bit. Its so dark here, and cold. I really don't like it.

"Friend"

I pause and look around. That sounded like Spot, but where was he? I see a slight movement to my right and see him a little distance away, he seemed to be caught in a net.

"Spot! Don't worry, I'll free you"

"No, friend, stay away"

Not thinking, I run toward him. It happened so fast, I didn't know what happened. But I soon found myself in a net as well. I struggled and tried to bite through the ropes. I tried to claw through them too, but nothing worked. These nets were made of braided grass as well.

"Well, looks like a certain little rat fell into my trap."

I know that voice. I look around, but only see Spot and darkness around us. Then I hear movement behind me.

"Hello there, Pinky."

"You! When I get out of here I'll"

He walked in front of me and smiled cruelly.

"You'll what? You're nothing without your precious Pink clan or those bug friends of yours. Of course, we shouldn't have that pest problem for very long."

I froze and looked up at the Orange in terror.

"Wh... what do you mean"

He brought his face down close to mine.

"As we speak, Yellow Leader and the Oranges are, how should I put this, just taking care of business. Green Leader and the Pinks are too weak and cowardly, they could never pull off a job like this. In fact, Yellow Leader may be so pleased with us Oranges that he'll "take care" of you Pinks as well. He'll be much better off with us Oranges and you know it. We've always been superior to you."

I couldn't believe it. My dream. It must be happening right now.

"No" I shouted as I began to struggle even harder, tears beginning to form. "This can't be happening"

"Oh, but it is. Poor Pinky. Poor bugs. Boo-hoo."

He stopped my struggling by suddenly smacking me across the face, then he raised his foot.

"Time for me to take care of business as well."

I heard an angry shout somewhere behind him, then a loud ripping sound. He didn't have much time to react before Spot grabbed him with his mouth and threw him away. The Orange landed with a loud thump some distance away and he seemed to be knocked out. I was never happier to see a bug.

"Spot save friend now" he happily chirped, then gnawed away on my net. I was so happy to be free, I gave Spot a big hug and purred.

"Spot and friend save others now, yes"

I nodded, and we ran toward the scent again. I hoped that we weren't too late.


	15. Chapter 15 Inevitable Doom

A loud roar.

We ran as fast as we could. The bugs were undoubtedly close. Spot looked very determined and not scared at all. I had to admire him. Even though we Pinks are known for our strength and ferocity, I wanted nothing more than to turn and run. Even though I was so afraid, I knew that I couldn't abandon the bugs now. They were like my family.

I heard several small screams, coming from Pikmin and bugs alike. Then my dream came back to me.

No... It can't be real.

We rounded a corner and I quickly hid behind a large rock. But Spot didn't follow me. He went running into the battlefield, growling and snapping his tiny fangs in an attempt to scare the Oranges. A female Orange with one eye ran at him, yelling, and Spot snatched her up in his mouth and...

I gasped and looked away. Spot... how could he?

I heard the screaming. I heard bones crunching and loud thumping sounds. I heard their battle cries, and cries of pain. I never thought that this would really happen. It can't! I must be dreaming! Maybe I'm still tied to that flower, or maybe I'm still at home and I haven't woken up yet. All these past days must have been an illusion.

... I could only wish...

Reluctantly, I looked out from behind the rock. An Orange jumped at the bug leader and slashed it across the side, the red liquid pouring from its wound like a horrible river. The bug leader cried out in pain and swung its leaf at an Orange who tried to attack it. The Orange had no time to realize he was even hit before his head smashed into a rock and he laid still.

Then I finally saw him. Yellow Leader. He was picking up Oranges and trying to throw them onto the bug leader. He was... grinning! How could he? That sick, twisted creature! He was killing these innocent creatures and it was like a game to him! His own Oranges were being killed!

The younger bugs were running around, crying in fear and narrowly dodging the Oranges' attacks. An Orange jumped at a young bug near me, her foot in a slicing position.

"No!"

Not even thinking, I burst from my hiding spot and pushed the little bug out of the way, a searing pain shooting through my entire body as I felt her foot slice into my right arm. I fell to the ground, holding my arm in pain. The Orange stared at me, confused.

"You... I thought I..."

I looked up and realized that it was the Orange who tied me to the flower. I stood up and glared at her, raising my flower and curling my petals in pure loathing. She almost whimpered and began to back away, fear in her eyes.

"You! How could you! They're just babies!"

I ran at her, yelling and with my claws in battle mode. My temper flared as hot as ever. She screamed and raised her arms to defend herself, but I knocked her to the ground and began to hack away at her mercilessly. I couldn't stop myself.

"Friend!"

I looked up to see Spot staring at me. Why was he looking at me like that? I heard crying. I looked down at the Orange, her face and arms badly damaged. I clawed out one of her eyes.

I couldn't speak. I didn't know how to react to what I had done. I never attacked anybody in my life, how could this happen? I was horrified at my actions. I got off of her as fast as I could and she continued to cry in pain. I looked at my hands in disbelief; my claws were covered in a clear liquid and bits of her skin.

The bug leader yelled in pain for the last time and the ground shook as its body hit the ground. Then all was silent, to me at least. I didn't want them to see me. But they all saw me. They all knew I was there. Yellow Leader probably even knew that it was me who saved the bugs earlier. They killed the bug leader and tried to kill a young bug, but even then... it felt as though there was no forgiving what I had done. The bug leader died quickly, this Orange has to suffer. Suffer for the rest of her life because of me.

Somebody pulled me to my feet and dragged me over to Yellow Leader. I was thrown to his feet, and there I stayed. I could almost feel all of their eyes on me. The young bugs were watching me in fear and confusion, and I could tell that the Oranges all hated the sight of me. I closed my own eyes and tried to block out my invading thoughts, my horrible realizations. I was no worse than them.

"... I remember you..."

My eyes snapped open. Yellow Leader spoke to me... and I understood him? I slowly looked up at him. Nobody else made a sound. Could only I understand Yellow Leader? Why?

He only watched me in silence, looking me over like he wanted to remember every pore on my body. Then he reached down and grabbed my stem, pulling me to my feet. A slight murmur went though the crowd I could no longer see. Yellow Leader stared into my eyes, as though looking into my very soul, and then he smiled.

"I was right in assuming that you would make a suitable fighter. Excellent. Your temper is what sets you apart from those other pathetic creatures, they would rather run and hide. But not you. You are truly an Orange in a Pink body!"

I flinched at his words. I don't WANT to be this way... why do I lose my temper so quickly? If only Green Leader were here...

"Come along, Pink. I haven't seen you in a while... so you ran that day when I spoiled your pretty little bouquet of pansies? Pathetic. I will personally train you to be the very best. Isn't that right?"

He put a big arm around me and shook me, laughing like we were old friends or something. This man disgusts me! I don't want him to lay a finger on me or anybody else. He made a loud whistle and all the Oranges ran to him. The bugs all jumped and looked at me. I nodded to them and they reluctantly went to Yellow Leader's side, looking very depressed indeed. Yellow Leader laughed heartily.

"Ah, excellent! Excellent! They know who's boss around here! You lot!"

He whistled again and directed five Oranges to pick up the dead body of the bug leader. I only stared as they began to carry it away.

"What are you doing! Don't you think you've done enough to the poor thing?"

Two of the Oranges carrying the body looked at me with sadness. Not all of the Oranges were the same; it looked like a lot of them hated this as much as I did.

I really had no choice in the matter. Yellow Leader led us all away, back to the camp. He had his arm around me the whole time, joking and laughing all the way about nothing. I stopped listening to him. I never wanted to come back here, the Oranges hated me because of my color and the Pinks hated me because I wanted an Orange friend. Do I belong anywhere?

The sun finally peeked over the hill, but it made no difference. All was dark to me. Yellow Leader left the bugs and I alone and began to instruct the Oranges to build a home for the little bugs. When he left us alone I just slumped to the ground. My flower drooped and my petals curled, almost as though in their own sadness.

"Friend?"

I looked up at Spot. He laid down beside me and nuzzled me, then he began to cry.

"Friend, what happened back there? We were bad, very bad. People got hurt. People wouldn't move anymore. Where's Mommy?"

"Mommy?"

Oh my goodness... the bug leader was their mother? I never knew that. I didn't know how to tell him because I didn't know what happened myself. The five Oranges carrying the bug leader went ahead of us. Did we change during battle? I've known Spot as a sweet, kind, and gentle bug. What could have possibly driven him to... kill?

"I... I don't know, Spot... I really don't know."

Spot squeaked in sadness and I hugged him. He was the purest creature I had ever met, and Yellow Leader was the one who tried to change him. I didn't know how or when, but Yellow Leader would pay for this.


	16. Chapter 16 Fight

_GAH, HOLY CARP!_

_I'm SOOOO sorry, guys, I haven't updated in so long! I got caught up in school work and other projects._

_Well, I've got up a new chapter at least, right? Oh, and I'm already thinking of future stories. Have fun reading, and thanks for the reviews!_

_-----_

The little bugs seemed to have made me their unofficial leader. All of them laid down beside me. Some were crying, some were quiet, a couple of them talked to each other about what was happening and wondering where their mother was. Spot fell asleep fairly quickly and I was glad that he did. Maybe a good sleep would help him to calm down.

We sat in silence for a good few hours. Most of the little bugs had fallen asleep around me and I only sat there, thinking and trying to sort out past events. I didn't even know what happened to that Orange who attacked me in the canyon. Spot knocked him out and he wasn't moving. I may have hated him with every fiber of my being, but a little part of me did hope that he was okay.

The realization that I had been up most of the night began to set in and I felt sleepy as well. But before I could fall into my peaceful world, something brought me back.

I immediately stood up when I heard yelling nearby. Many Oranges seemed to be forming a circle and they were chanting, "Fight, fight fight!" These guys just never stop! Are the Oranges always this easy to anger? Then I realized that the yelling was coming from two very familiar voices. What was going on?

Not even thinking twice, I ran over and woke up a few of the baby bugs by mistake. I tried to see over everybody's heads and I did see a familiar face in there. I began to push my way through the excited Oranges and saw that the two fighters were indeed people I knew.

My friend and the bad Orange from the canyon.

I didn't know what they were fighting for, but it was an all-out battle. My friend swung his budded stem at the bad Orange in an attempt to knock him over and not really hurt him, but the bad Orange was definitely trying to kill my friend.

"Slice him open, Kyros!" yelled an Orange right beside me. Grinning, the bad Orange swung his foot amazingly quickly at my friend and just barely missed him. So his name is Kyros?

"Hey, Pink girl, you should go in there and cut 'em up good like you did that kid!" said one Orange, slapping me on the back and laughing like he said a great joke. A few others laughed as well. I couldn't stand it.

Kyros sliced through the air again, but lost his balance. My friend hit him on the back with his bud and pinned Kyros to the ground. Everybody watched in anticipation, waiting to see if he would kill Kyros.

"Finish him!"

"Come on!"

"Get on with it already!"

Didn't they care that one of their own were about to be killed?

"Oi, you stupid animals! Break it up!" yelled Yellow Leader as he stomped toward us. The crowd instantly got out of his way and I was almost pushed to the ground again. Looks like the Oranges are afraid of Yellow Leader after all. I watched as Yellow Leader grabbed my friend's arm and pulled him off of Kyros. Kyros tried to get back up, only to be kicked right back down by Yellow Leader himself.

"You stupid creatures, enough of you get killed every day without you ripping each other to pieces!" he spat. Of course, I seemed to be the only one who could understand him, all the Oranges watched him in horror and Kyros glared at him with utter hatred.

Yellow leader looked at me and yelled, "You, Pink, go back to your Onion!" Go back to my what? "NOW!" he yelled, all of the Oranges squeaked and huddled together, watching him fearfully.

I really didn't know what he wanted me to do. What was an Onion? I looked at the Oranges, they were all watching me in curiosity. A few began to whisper.

"What is she doing?"

"Does she want to get killed?"

"She's pretty brave, for a Pink..."

We all jumped when Yellow Leader made a loud whistle, it seemed to be directed toward me. But I haven't been with them for such a long time, I didn't know what he wanted me to do. Then the Oranges began to whisper even more.

"She's disobeying him!"

"Go home! Go home!"

"Are you deaf or something?"

"I can't watch!"

I was too distracted by their whispering to notice Yellow Leader. he grabbed me by the neck rather unkindly and threw me. I could hear the entire crowd gasp. I didn't really know what had just happened to me but, almost automatically, I spread my arms and legs and latched right onto the side of the tree I had been rudely thrown at.

I hate Yellow Leader. I may be afraid of him, but my impulses overpowered my common sense at that moment.

My anger flared and my claws itched for battle again. I let go of the tree and landed on all fours. I arched my back and hissed at Yellow Leader with such loathing. I felt as though I had lost all control of myself. My petals curled and my stem and flower took on the appearance of a second head with large, white teeth.

Even the Oranges were afraid of me, but Yellow Leader seemed more than unimpressed.

"You want a fight, Pink? I dare you to try it."

And so I did.


	17. Chapter 17 Victory Of Sorts

_Hello hello again, I finally got to update, please forgive me and my oh-so-late self! . I could not write this chapter the way I wanted it to be; it was so horrible the first few times. Hopefully, this is good enough! I think it's too rushed, so go easy on me... or not ;_

_Congrats, _A. Nonymous_, it's so great that you've graduated. I've got one more year to go myself!_

Joshua T. Reyes_, that's got to be the best compliment I've ever gotten in my entire life! Thank you so much!_

_And, everybody else, thanks a LOT for sticking around so long. Even when I don't update, you continue to comment and push me to write more and more. I love you all!_

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I ran at Yellow Leader on all fours, my speed amazing even myself. I leapt at him, my claws outstretched, but he saw my attack coming. He grabbed my right arm, then swung me and slammed me into the ground, face-first. I was too stunned to move, it actually took a moment or two for me to even feel the pain.

He was about to stomp on me with one of his big boots, but my speed helped me to escape yet again. I quickly dodged him and jumped onto his back, then tried to slice him with my claws, but they didn't have any effect on him at all.

"Wh... what?" I squeaked. Yellow Leader reached back and grabbed my stem, then swung me forwards and onto the ground again. I tried to get up, but he stomped down on my head, pinning me to the ground. The pain pulsing through me was now unbearable.

"Did you really think it would be that easy, Pink? Looks like I'll have to put you in your place," he growled. He then raised his foot and brought it back down on my poor head and I shrieked in pain. I couldn't get away. He repeated his attack a few more times and I could feel precious life slipping away from me.

"You would have made a good fighter, Pink. But your life ends here." He raised his foot again and I coughed painfully, squeezing my eyes shut, but the boot never made contact with my head again.

"No!"

Yellow Leader gave a great yell and I felt a large tremor as he fell. I weakly opened my eyes and saw an Orange sitting on Yellow Leader's chest, beating him with her bud. The splitting pain in my head was beginning to make my entire body go numb, all thought was paralyzed.

I felt myself be picked up gently, by who I didn't know. It felt like my head was filled with water again, all sound was strange and muffled now. I was being carried, and then I felt myself being lowered into something wet. I blinked and tried to focus my eyes; my vision was coming and going. I felt something warm trickling from my mouth.

After a minute or two, the chaos finally returned. I blinked away my fuzzy vision and I could hear again. I was lying in a shallow pool of fresh nectar, and there was a great commotion.

"Is she alright?"

"I don't know... Pink? Hey, Pink!"

I moaned and sat up. The pain was slowly going away, but I was feeling a whole lot better than before.

"She's alive! Look! Look! She's moving!"

I felt something lick my face, and right away I knew who it was.

"Spot! What's going on?"

I looked around and saw a great fight. Oranges were fighting fellow Oranges and the other little bugs were trying to fight Yellow Leader himself. I'll say this much, he didn't look happy.

"Yellow One hurt friend! Orange attack Yellow One, Yellow One attack Orange. More make attack and we attack. Yellow One very bad."

It took me a minute to think about what Spot said, and understand it. An Orange defended me? I thought that they all hated us Pinks. I'm glad that I was wrong.

I heard several squeaks of pain, and the last of the little bugs fighting Yellow Leader had fallen. He then looked around, and his eyes landed on me.

"You... you did this."

As his dark eyes focused on me, I felt more afraid than ever. It felt like they were burning right into me, and even after all that fighting, I knew he wasn't finished.

Spot squealed, and then ran in front of me as though he were protecting me. He growled and bared his fangs, pinning his leaf back and giving Yellow leader a warning glare. Yellow Leader said something under his breath, I didn't hear him, but then he grabbed a random Orange and threw him at us. The Orange screamed and didn't even know what was going on, but Spot didn't have time to react before the Orange collided with him and they were both on the ground, dazed.

My now famous temper flared up again. I snarled at Yellow Leader and ran at him again. I was about to jump again and he thought he had my strategy all worked out. But, instead of jumping at him right away, I feinted to the right and just dodged his hands, jumping onto his back again and, instead of using my claws, I formed my own flower to look like a bud again and began to club him with it. He yelled out in anger and tried to grab my stem again, but I wouldn't make the same mistake twice. If I wanted to survive, I couldn't make mistakes, period. When he grabbed for my stem, I sunk my claws into his right hand, all the way. His gloves may be pretty thick, but my claws are longer.

He screamed and tried to pull his hand away, but I wouldn't let go. I held my grip on his hand while still clubbing him with my bud. I prepared one powerful blow at least, and I ended up hitting something on his back. It was a yellow box of some kind; I didn't know what it was. But when I hit that box, he stopped struggling to free his hand and a look of pure terror flashed across his face. He took in a big breath, and then he began to run for his ship. In the sudden motion, I let go and fell on my stomach, but I was unharmed.

I watched as Yellow Leader ran into his ship, and when the door slid shut, my hearing was filled by loud noises again. But... they weren't the noises of battle anymore.

I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. The Oranges swarmed around me, and I was afraid they were going to rip me to pieces... but instead, they picked me up and help me up. Well... that was definitely one of the strangest things that had ever happened to me in my life. They were all cheering and praising me, and it... felt kind of good. As they held me up, cheering and whooping and laughing, I did something that I never thought I would do again... I smiled. After all that's happened to me, after all of this death and fighting, after being rejected by my own color and facing one of the things I feared more than anything, I smiled. I had never felt so happy for the longest time. I was proud of myself for standing up to Yellow Leader, glad that the Oranges didn't seem to hate me anymore, and glad that my friend was safe... my friend... I didn't even see him during the fight at all. That was when I started to worry.

"Um... excuse me, but... no, please, let me down..."

The two Oranges holding me on their shoulders set me back on my feet, smiling and patting me on the back. I heard one Orange somewhere yell, "All hail Pinky, our hero!" I looked around, I couldn't see my friend. I tried to push my way through the cheering crowd, and more Oranges tried to pat me on the back or shake my hand. As I finally got out, I saw that not all of the Oranges seemed that enthusiastic. Kyros and a few others were huddled together a short distance away, glaring at me and not saying a word. A few more Oranges and all the poor little bugs had been beaten out cold and were lying here and there. I hoped they would be okay.

But I still did not see my friend. The Oranges who liked me were still cheering, and calling me Pinky, the noise didn't exactly help me to concentrate. As I began to walk around, looking for my friend, I couldn't help but notice Kyros talking with the Oranges in his little group. What got my attention is that they sometimes looked in my direction... were they talking about me? Or... maybe he did something to my friend during the fight.

I barely knew what happened myself, and Kyros had no time to react as I ran toward him and punched him square in the face with all I had.

"What do you think you're doing!" yelled one of the Oranges who seemed to be on Kyros' side. He sounded angry, but as soon as I looked at him, he whimpered and stepped away.

Likewise, I didn't notice that Kyros got back up, and had no time to react as he punched me right back.

This time, it was me and him, face to face. After all he's done, and tried to do to me, I would not stand by and let him just get away with it. Punch after punch was exchanged, I could feel something arm trickling down the side of my face, but I ignored it and kept fighting. He tried to swipe at me with his foot, but I dodged and gave him a good rake with my claws.

I don't know how long I was fighting, but somebody finally grabbed my arms and restrained me. Of course I struggled, I wasn't done with this jerk, but then a voice said to me firmly, "That's enough."

I stopped struggling, and then I looked up and into a pair of stern blue eyes. "You think you can run away for this long, then return and stir up trouble?" the Flower Pink said. I could tell she was mad at me, I've felt "that look" before.

"I, um... I..." I stuttered. I didn't know what to say to her. What COULD I say? Nothing could justify what I did... I may hate Kyros more than maybe anything, but... I guess I kind of attacked him unprovoked. She let go of me, then looked around at everybody.

"You Oranges had better get your kind back to where you belong, understand? I won't have any more death here today." Oh, I looked at her in surprise alright. A Pink giving orders to Oranges, alone? It's not like she had the whole Pink team to back her up or anything. But, what surprised me even more; they did what she said to. The Oranges gloomily picked up their fallen companions and started back to their home, Kyros glared at me as he passed by.

Well... I was confused. How much did I miss? Since when would Oranges listen to a Pink?

Almost as though reading my mind, the Flower Pink said, "They may be violent and stupid, but they're smart enough to take orders at least. They know when to retreat." When she said that last part, she gave me another stern look. I looked away; I knew what she was trying to say. To her, I was no better... maybe even worse than the Oranges. They may have taken an order from her, but it was easy to tell that the two colors still hated each other, and after all this time, she still thinks of me as an irresponsible child.

I wasn't really sure what to do now. I still didn't know where my Orange friend was. My earlier anger and hate died inside of me, now I didn't know what to feel.

I looked up to see the Flower Pink walking back home, and I started to follow her, but she stopped all of a sudden and said, "Where do you think YOU'RE going?" I stopped and stared at her, a bit surprised. But I knew what she was trying to say, yet again. I wasn't welcome home anymore.

I guess the only thing I felt now was cold. It was getting night already, and I shivered as a chill wind swept across my back. The Flower Pink continued on her way and I watched her climb up the stilt and inside. I watched in sadness and imagined what it would be like inside. Nice and warm, safe, comfortable, never alone...

I kicked at some dirt and wrapped my arms around myself. What was I going to do now? I looked around and saw the fifteen scattered bodies of the little bugs. I didn't know for sure, but I just hoped they weren't dead. If I were all alone, I don't know what would happen to me. Their mother, the bug leader, was already dead, no thanks to me...

I sighed. I had to keep warm somehow, and the other Pinks didn't want me anymore, it seemed. I had a little chore ahead of me. I walked over to the closest little bug and I checked her. She was breathing; she seemed to be just knocked out cold. I breathed a sigh of relief this time, and hoped that the others were simply out cold. I checked each bug, one by one, and I had to drag them all into a little group. I was saddened to see that one of the little bugs were not so lucky and had been killed during the fight, that horrible red liquid flowed down his side from a wound that an Orange gave him. Now that they were in a little group together, we could all share each other's body heat. I settled down in the middle of the group. It was very cold and the sun was fully down now, the wind kept whistling by and chilled me. I just snuggled deeper into the warmth of my friends. I could tell the night would be long. I closed my eyes, trying to block out all thought, and I eventually fell into a very uncomfortable sleep on the cold ground.


	18. Chapter 18 Return Of Fear

I woke up the next day, my body stiff and my joints aching. I was used to sleeping on soft, cushiony grass, not cold, hard dirt. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, still sleepy, but I had to wake up sooner or later. Who knows what could happen today?

As I yawned and stretched my arms, I felt something cuddle up against me and heard it let out a little whimper. I looked to my left; Spot had a large purple mark right in the middle of his back. I didn't know what these marks were called, but I knew there were painful. I remember having a big purple mark when I was attacked by that serpent-creature not long ago. I hugged him gently. I didn't quite know what I could say to him. His mother and one of his brothers were killed, he was taken away from the only home he knew... he must feel so alone. Kind of like me, in a way, but my "family" abandoned me.

"Yellow One bad..." I heard one of the little bugs mumble. Some of them were licking their wounds, a couple were still asleep. Only 14 of these baby creatures were alive now, and with no leader. Well... I guess Yellow Leader is their leader now... I shuddered at the thought. I didn't want him to taint such beautiful, pure creatures. He's already controlling the Oranges, or so I thought. I guess some of them really aren't big fans of Yellow Leader.

I was kind of surprised that all of the little bugs stayed right here, none of them wandered off. They always seemed so adventurous to me, but I guess they're a little frightened now. I would be too... well, I guess I AM right now... maybe just a bit.

I heard the door of the ship open. My back was to it, and quite frankly, I didn't feel like turning around to see who it was. It could only BE Yellow Leader, come to have his revenge on me. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised I survived the night. One would expect him to have come for me while I was asleep.

Well... I was definitely not in the mood to see him. But, if he came back for more, I was ready for him.

I stood up, and I heard the footsteps stop right behind me. Taking in a deep breath, I turned around, and looked right into a pair of eyes I thought I would never see again. Green Leader's eyes.

Surprised to see him, and not even paying attention, I fell over backwards and on top of one of the little bugs by mistake. She squealed and wriggled out from under me, probably wondering if she did something wrong.

Green Leader looked down at me. I could see in his dark eyes that he remembered me, and I knew for sure that I could never forget him. He reached down and held his hand out to me. I watched him, and he smiled at me. I knew I could trust him, for sure. I half-smiled back and took his hand, he then helped me to my feet. He was definitely one of the kindest people I have ever known. I'm not sure if that's saying much for the Oranges or my fellow Pinks, but compared to everybody else I've met, he's a very good guy.

I never even noticed the sounds of construction nearby until now. I came back to reality, and... well, I realized I still hadn't let go of Green Leader's hand. I let go, my face felt like it was practically burning. But as I looked to my right, I saw the Oranges were at work again. I could see that the home they were making for my little bug friends was finally beginning to take shape, it actually looked similar to my... well, my used-to-be home. It was about halfway finished, it didn't have any stilts. It was being made slowly, but it was being made very carefully. I recognized a few of the Oranges, one was the girl Orange who had tied me to that berry-flower and she was the same Orange that I attacked. I still felt bad for that, but it looked as though all of her wounds had healed. The wonders of nectar. This Orange, she was very creative indeed. She was weaving more grass ropes and painting large leaves with the same pattern on my home, but instead of pink, she was making it red with white spots to look like the little bugs. It's actually kind of clever.

"Nice, isn't it?" I heard Green Leader say. I looked up at him, and I could see the wonder and admiration in his eyes as he watched the Oranges work. I had to admit, I was impressed too. No way could I build something like that.

"I haven't seen you for a while," Green Leader said, suddenly turning his attention on me. "I bet you've had some wild adventures on your own." I squeaked. He had no idea. Heck, I'd tell him myself, but I don't think he can understand me anyways. He never seemed to before, I guess. But I bet my stories of what happened while I was away would be exciting, especially the story of when we saw a cloud of pretty multi-colored flying things hovering over the pond. They were beautiful, and even played games of tag with the little bugs. A red one landed near me and told me a tale of creatures, Pikmin, just like me, but they were flying. I still don't know whether or not to believe such a wild story, but it was really fun to hear nonetheless. It was a very romantic story with a happy ending and everything. I pray every day that I could have such a happy end to my tale... I just hoped my "end" didn't come too soon.

"You've been through a lot... you can stay here, if you'd like to," Green Leader said to me. "I'm going to take the other Pinks out to find more food and increase the numbers. You'll be having some more friends soon," he said while giving me a very big smile. My own smile faded a bit. Friends... I could sure use some of them. But, odds are, they would dislike me as well for wanting Orange friends. I don't understand why the Oranges and Pinks dislike each other just for their color, we're all brothers and sisters, in a sense.

"I'd better get going. Have a nice day," he said sweetly, then he walked to my home. I watched, a little sad. I actually wanted to go with him, I haven't been with Green Leader in the longest time. But one, I didn't want to face the other Pinks and two, I didn't want to leave the little bugs all alone. I watched as he called down twenty Pinks, then they walked away towards one of the canyon-like areas. There were two canyon-like places, the left one that led into the forest-like area where I and the bugs used to live, and the right one that led into the Orange territory. I never explored their area, and if I was going to be attacked by Kyros or his friends, I didn't really want to.

I turned and looked at the little bugs, some were making "meeeeeka meep" sounds. I knew what that meant, they were hungry. I looked around, and I looked at the hill behind my home. All around it were beautiful plants and grass of all kinds, I knew they would love to eat those. "C'mon," I said, starting to walk away. They hesitated, but as I was going farther and farther away, they squeaked and ran after me. I guess maybe I was kind of like a leader to them now... not quite sure how that happened. But I guess it's kind of cool to be thought of as a leader.

I sat down and made myself comfortable in the grass, letting the little bugs graze and fill up their bellies. They soon became less shy and sniffed around curiously, but they were careful not to stray too far from me.

All seemed very peaceful, until a panicked scream tore through the air. I was already starting to fall asleep, but I got a rude awakening as I saw something I wish I never would have to see again. The serpent-creature. No... it wasn't the same one. It was very long and had the blue-green scales running down its neck, but its head was white and the feathers were short and scruffy. But only the creature's neck was seen above ground. Was it stuck?

I had no time to wonder such things now. I took in a deep breath and screeched as loudly as I could, all of the bugs ran towards me in terror. The serpentine beast let a great cry, then it retreated into the ground and left nothing but a hole.

Oh, I was scared alright. I looked around, so did the little bugs, huddling close together and whimpering. There wasn't a sound in the air, I didn't even hear the oranges in the background anymore. I listened as hard as I could, but nothing came through the still air. I heard footsteps behind me.

"Pink! Hey, Pink, what's all the hollerin' about," I heard an Orange yell behind me. I guess they all stopped to check up on us.

"No! Stay back!" I warned. I heard them stop, they mumbled in confusion among themselves. I then picked up something from underground with my sensitive feet, some kind of movement... and the minute tremors felt closer and stronger by the second.

"EVERYBODY, MOVE!" I yelled, grabbing a bug or two and running. The little bugs panicked and all followed me, the Oranges seemed to be completely confused. But then, that horrible monster burst up from the earth and send clumps of dirt flying everywhere. And one of my friends weren't fast enough to get out of the way.

"SPOT, NO!"


	19. Chapter 19 Welcome Home

I watched in horror as the beast held my young friend in its beak. I didn't know if Spot was knocked out cold or if he fainted, but he wasn't moving, and I prayed that he was still alive. I ran at the creature and tried to slash it with my claws, but they had no effect on it at all. The scales were very hard and shiny, glittering in the sun, and somehow their very existence mocked me and my feeble attempts to harm them. I didn't know what to do, how could I hurt this thing? I looked back at the Oranges; they were huddled in a tight group. Don't tell me they're too scared to do anything... they HAVE to help, somebody has to!

One of the Oranges then turned to me. "Hey, Pink! Pick us up and throw us at the monster's head!"

"What?" I squeaked. Why would they willingly go TOWARD the part of the body that would eat them?

"Just do it, we have an idea!" he replied, preparing himself. Well, I was a little skeptical, of course. But if they could do anything to save Spot, I was willing to let them do it. Luckily, the Oranges did have very thin bodies, so they were much lighter than the little bugs. I remember when I threw the little bugs to chase away Yellow Leader from the bug leader that one time, my wrists were sore for two days.

Thinking I had nothing to lose, I picked up the Orange and threw him at the monster with everything I had. He flew through the air with ease and at the last moment, swung his foot and sliced the beast's right eye.

The creature gave a mighty shriek and dropped Spot, thrashing its head around as the red liquid spurt from the wound. I ran forward as quickly as I could, catching Spot, but I toppled over from his weight. He and the other little bugs had grown a bit since I first met them.

I heard battle cries nearby. I propped myself up on my elbows and watched in awe as some Oranges started throwing some of their own towards the creature's head, making one deadly slice after another.

"Filthy insects!" the creature screeched, and then it retreated underground.

The Oranges got back together and cheered victory. I wasn't so sure that the serpent-creature was gone for good. "Hey, Pink, your pet okay?"

"He's not my pet, he's my friend," I said with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

The Orange shrugged. "Whatever."

They still stood there. I sighed, then said, "Thank you for saving us, you were all very brave, and smart for thinking of fighting that way."

The same Orange smiled brightly and puffed out his chest, which looked a little silly because of how skinny he was. "Oh, it was nothing at all. We've fought one of these bird-brains before. They're nothing, really. Well, we oughta get back to our work of art. Right, fellas?" The other Oranges smiled and nodded, then went back down the hill to continue their construction. I guess Oranges liked flattery and power. Kyros always did seem a little over-dominant and power-hungry, I'm glad he wasn't among this group of Oranges. He'd probably pick me up and throw me straight into that monster's mouth, if he got the chance to.

I checked Spot. He was alive after all, thank heavens; he seemed to have just fainted from fear. The rest of the little bugs gathered around me, still shaking a little from fear. I watched the hole where the creature disappeared and I stood perfectly still, waiting. But it seemed that it really was gone. I guess I kind of felt bad for it. I mean, it was just looking for some food, but instead it got horribly injured and no food at all. I don't really like the thought of eating other living creatures, but I still felt a little sorry for it.

I took them back down the hill and to our "nesting spot", I guess we can call it. Where we slept the night before left a circle-shaped disturbance in the dirt, so we all sat down to rest after that scare. I looked up to see a few Pinks coming out of the canyon-area, carrying more of those strange pellets I saw from my very first day of life. Some were red, some were blue, and some were yellow. I liked their bright colors; they reminded me of the little flying creatures.

I watched as they carried the little pellets to our home. As they got them under the very middle, a beam shone down and the pellets were suddenly sucked right in, shrinking in size right before they entered. I tilted my head and watched in curiosity. I never saw that happen before. Then, the flower on top spun a bit, and then seeds shot out of the top of our home and gently floated to the ground. Upon coming in contact with the fresh earth, the seeds burrowed underground and left tiny holes where they used to be. Mere seconds later, a little bud appeared above ground. And only a few more seconds later, that bud grew into a stem with a leaf. Do we really grow that fast? That's... absolutely amazing...

More of these buds appeared, and they turned into leaved stems. The Pinks busied themselves with grabbing hold of the stems and pulling on them, and more Pinks were pulled right from the ground. It was so strange for me to watch this happen, to watch the birth of many new lives. I was happy, yet at the same time, I had another feeling I couldn't quite describe. Maybe I felt a little insignificant, somehow. My fellow Pinks sure helped to give me that feeling over time, for sure.

The newborns all seemed a little dazed and confused. I knew the feeling; it's strange when you're first plucked from the earth. Well, you're only born once. The Pinks who pulled them from the ground began to take the new Pinks away towards the canyon area again. Some of the newer Pinks looked at me in curiosity, but the older Pinks didn't even glance at me. I'm sure that soon, even all the newborns will have heard of me and will dislike me...

We all sat there for a good while, more Pinks came and went, more Pinks were born and escorted away to help with work. Somehow, it depressed me that these Pinks are just born, then they are put to work right away, almost like... slaves.

I knew we would be here a while. About halfway through the day, I gathered some grass and leaves, then laid it down for the little bugs and I to sit on. It was much more comfortable than the dirt, for sure. We sat... and we sat... about two hours after I made us our "cushion", I took the little bugs to graze again, this time being much more careful and making sure no monsters would suddenly pop out and eat somebody. Ugh, then he sat down and waited more. Maybe I should have gone with Green Leader after all, who knows what I could be missing.

Well, when the sun was fully down and the sky was painted orange, the Oranges were pleased to come over and get our attention.

"Hey, Pinky, I bet your pets are gonna love this!"

"I told you already, they're not my--" As I turned to look at them, I saw behind them something truly splendid. A home for the bugs.

"Heh heh, pretty, 'aint it?" he said, a wide grin on his face. I didn't even notice that my mouth was wide open, it was more than pretty. It looked a lot like my home, or the Oranges home, but they sure knew how to decorate. The sides they somehow managed to make perfectly smooth, with lovely flowers and leaves hanging off in braids and strands, tiny water droplets glittered and sparkled. The home itself had no stilts, it was on the ground, but that was considerate of the Oranges because the little bugs have no arms and probably couldn't climb anyways. The entrances in looked like doorways of some kind, they were rounded and larger than the entrances into my home, just big enough for the bugs to get in and out, but small enough that predators couldn't come in.

"That's just the outside," the Orange said, his smile growing wider.

"I saw what that flower-headed meanie did to you last night," said one Orange, stepping forward and putting her hand on my shoulder. "There's plenty of room inside, it's bigger than it looks." Well, I knew that our homes looked small on the outside, and they really were spacious on the inside, but how much bigger could this one be?

"Well," began one Orange, looking at the sky, "I think we'd better call it a night. Sweet dreams, Pinky."

"Bye, Pinky."

"See you later, Pinky."

"Um... bye... goodnight, and thank you all very much," I said, smiling in disbelief. These Oranges were far nicer than I previously thought. I was right; the two colors can get along if they just let it happen. We're not THAT different, after all.

I waved and watched as they walked away to their own home in the canyon. Then I looked at the new home, the home for the little bugs... and for me.

"What skinny Orange one say?" said a little bug, looking up at me with her big eyes rather cutely. I smiled at her and pointed at their home.

"The Oranges made a gift or us," I told her. "This is our new home."

The little bugs looked at it, and then chattered among themselves in hushed voices. I knew they missed their old home by that beautiful pond and waterfall in the forest, I missed it as well. But this was better than nothing, definitely better than just sitting on the ground in the same place for hours on end.

"Come on, I'm sure it's nice on the inside." They looked at each other a bit sadly, but I knew they were curious. I was too.

I began to walk towards our new home, they followed me. Two little bugs carried Spot, who was still out cold, but he did seem a lot more peaceful now than before. I walked into the doorway, and I gasped. It was beautiful inside.

On the walls hung more beautifully woven braids of grass, hanging in long ropes all around with flowers of all colors woven into them. They also glowed warmly from a powder of some kind, lighting the inside. It looked like the Oranges went a step further than all of this beautiful decorating too, on the floor was spread cushiony grass and leaves that smelled of perfumes of some kind, and I saw some tunnels in the ground that led into more rooms, making the home even bigger. Lighting the tunnels and other rooms were more of the braided grass ropes with the shining powder. On one of the walls was a black, long, flat rock, broken in such a way that the surface was perfectly smooth. So smooth that we could see ourselves in it. As I looked into a couple rooms, one room was dug like a pit with large leaves lining the bottom, and the pit was filled with fresh water. It was a home-made spring to drink from.

Well... to say I was impressed would be an understatement, I was close to tears. I couldn't believe how much the Oranges did, and how hard they worked. The little bugs warmed up to their new home right away, even the smallest flowers on the grass braids amazed them. We were all truly grateful, and I'm not sure if it's even possible to thank the Oranges for all of this. Perhaps the joy of knowing they made us happy is enough. If only the Pinks could learn from them...

It was getting late. The moon started to rise when I saw Green Leader finally return with a large number of Pinks behind him. He whistled, and they all went into their home, then Green Leader went into his ship. Sleep sure sounded nice right about now. As I got everybody to settle into the grass beds, I laid down myself. Besides that monster, I guess today was a really great day... especially the wonderful surprise we got at the end of the day.

"Good night, Spot" I said softly. Spot was laid down beside me so I could keep a closer eye on him. He was one of my closest friends and I worried about him, a lot. If that monster had managed to pick him off today, even this new home wouldn't be able to cheer me up. I yawned and closed my eyes, the perfume from the grass gently lulling me to sleep.


	20. Chapter 20 The Hill

_VERY late, as usual, huh? Sorry, mine friends, but my computer time has been majorly cut, even more than usual. And not just internet, I mean the computer altogether, which really sucks. So, it was either write and update, or chat with friends… I tried to balance the two, but it didn't work out. At least I finally got something done, huh? Now personally, I don't think this chapter was as good as it could be, but maybe that's because I've read it over too many dang times, hehe! As usual, read and try to spot my mistakes! When the whole story is done (how long will THAT be), I'll try to fix my mistakes. I KNOW there's more than enough in my earliest chapters, I only saw them after rereading them again. Well, anyways, I'll stop wasting your precious time XD_

_Happy reading!_

_(And for anybody who has never read Through Red Eyes, do it! GameTrekker, seriously, best writer in our section, and DEFINITELY worth reading and reviewing!)_

_-----_

I moaned and lazily opened my eyes; I thought I heard something. I listened and heard it again. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and looked around. It looked like everybody was still asleep, maybe somebody was having a weird dream?

"Psst!"

I heard it clearly this time, it sounded like somebody was trying to get my attention.

"Hello?" I said softly, trying not to wake up the little bugs.

"Over here," I heard, the voice was coming from around the doorway. I stood up and slowly walked over, nearly tripping over somebody.

"Pardon, who's there?" I asked, making my way to the door.

I jumped a bit, startled, as somebody peered around the doorway, their eyes reflecting some of the moonlight and appearing to glow. "Hey there," he said.

"You!" I nearly squealed, delighted. It was my friend! I jumped outside and wrapped my arms around him in a hug, catching him completely off guard. He smiled sheepishly and gave me a little hug back. "I'm so glad you're okay! You disappeared during the fight, I thought something bad happened!"

"Nope, it takes more than that to get rid of me," he laughed, letting go of me. "It's so good to see you again, I thought something happened to you!"

'Something' was an understatement, I think quite a few things have happened to me. This just tied up the whole day and made it perfect. Well, not perfect, but as close as I could ever get to it.

"Would you like to take a walk?" he asked, holding out his hand. He really was quite… charming. I smiled, looking into his eyes, then I reached out and he took my hand. I looked down at his hand holding mine, so gently, and couldn't help but notice how… strange our hands were, compared to each other. His three fingers were smaller, almost dainty in appearance. They looked like they could snap at the smallest force, yet they were, in truth, very powerful. I had three fingers, but they were different. Actually, I had two fingers on top of my hand and a third finger at the bottom of my hand. My fingers were thicker and had claws, the finger on the bottom of my hand being a bit shorter than the other two. I never even took the time to really observe my own hands and study them, now they seem so strange to me.

"Are you okay?" a slightly concerned voice asked, shaking me from my thoughts. I looked up at him again. I never really noticed how tall he was before either.

"I'm okay, nothing's wrong," I assured him, giving him a warm smile.

He still seemed a bit worried, but he returned the smile. "That's good."

"Now, what's this you say about a walk?" I asked, my cheerfulness returning.

"Why, how rude of me to keep the lady waiting," he chirped, then he looked a distance away, towards the hill we sat on before. I remember the first time he asked me to go for a walk. He was so shy, quiet, his voice practically shook. But he's not like that now. He's charming and sweet like before, but he's not as shy as before. More outgoing, for sure.

Still holding my hand, he led me away and we began to walk back towards the hill. The ground here, with the Pink and the little bugs' homes, has no grass, no life. Which seems strange, because there are lots of nutrients underground, I remember that from before I was born. But the hill itself always had a layer of short fluffy grass, the hill and dirt ground seemed to be almost separated by a wall of tall grass and flowers. It wasn't a very thick wall, easy to get by. But I kind of just noticed this now. When I made that 'nest' for the little bugs and I to sit on, I pulled out some of the grass 'wall', and left what looked kind of like a doorway.

Hmm, I guess it kind of depends on how you look at it. The hill didn't seem that far away, yet it's almost like our walk there could have lasted forever. My hand in his, feeling those soft and gentle, yet strong fingers… and even though I was walking on rough, hard dirt, I felt like I were walking on a cloud.

We walked side-by-side. When we reached the little 'doorway', he let go of my hand and smiled, stepping aside for me to go first. He's polite too. I felt the strange urge to giggle, walking through the doorway ahead of him. He soon followed, taking my hand again and leading me to the top. It still seemed the same as before, yet different. I knew that, no matter how many times this happened, no matter how many times I saw these sights... I would never grow sick of them. Those tiny sky lights will always twinkle brilliantly for the world, the grass will always be soft and inviting, the trees nearby will always whisper sweet nothings. And this moment will never end in my mind.

I sat down, and he sat beside me. He sighed contentedly, looking up at the sky again.

"It's... been a while," I said quietly, unsure of what else I could say. I haven't had a real conversation ever since I was born, pretty much. Not a really decent one, at least.

He smiled at me. "Yeah, a while. Things change over time too."

"Hmm?"

He held out his hand to me, smiling sweetly. "I'm Akamu, by the way."

I kind of stared at his hand for a moment. Akamu? Then he got a name while I was gone... and I still hadn't one.

I reached out and shook his hand, but I merely smiled. His smile faded just a bit. "Don't you have a name?" he asked. I guess it was normal to say your name and introduce yourself after somebody introduces themselves to you. But, I kind of couldn't.

"No, I don't," I said quietly, letting go of his hand. I kind of felt silly not having a name now, it seemed as though everybody did. I know the Oranges all called me 'Pink' or 'Pinky', but that didn't seem fitting at all. They just called me that because I was the only Pink who would ever approach them, so it was already easy to tell me apart from everybody. Still, 'Pinky' was better than 'hey you'.

"Oh... I see," he said. "Well, it doesn't really matter," he said, trying to give me a reassuring smile. "Whatever name you do or don't have, you'll always be the same person to me." He then reached over and put his hand on mine. I don't know why, but I was startled a bit by that simple thing. And that feeling was coming back... what was this feeling called?

"Bree!"

I jumped and looking around, startled. Akamu also jumped a bit, but then he began to laugh. I watched him, then looked down at the ground, feeling silly. I kind of ruined the moment I guess.

When he stopped, he just smiled at me. "Don't worry, that was just a Spotlo."

I blinked, then looked up at him again. "... what's a Spotlo?" I asked.

He also seemed a bit confused. "You know what a Spotlo is... well, they look a lot like Leafy Spotlos." He watched my confused expression, then he seemed to understand. "Oh, that's right... you weren't here when we made names and stuff for the creatures around here." He stood and walked to the edge of the hill, motioning for me to come over. I stood up and walked over beside him, curious. He pointed downward, and I looked... things sure do look different at night time.

Below us was a massive valley. Lining the valley were flowers of all shapes and sizes, and they were all glowing yellow, blue and red colors. Wandering around were several creatures, illuminated in the pretty lights. I immediately recognized most of them, but some I had not seen before, I admit.

"There... that's a Spotlo," he said, pointing. I looked, and I saw... well, a bug. Much like the little bugs back at home, but they were slightly bigger. They were red and had white spots. I knew them, they looked to me like the baby versions of the massive ones. The Spotlo that had made a shrill cry not long ago was still crying, being chased around by a bigger creature. It looked like one of the giant bugs, but its body was almost completely black and shiny. Its huge mouth had two longer fangs, the front teeth being shorter fangs, the back teeth were flat. The huge creature lunged and scooped up the smaller bug, its dying cries being imprinted in my mind. I watched as it lapped up the red liquid that was left over, and I shuddered.

"Big, mean brutes, those Black Spothais... oh! Spothai is what we call the bigger ones, by the way." he took his eyes off them and looked at me. I was hugging myself, feeling cold all of a sudden. "... hey... are you alright?"

I looked at him and slowly nodded my head. "Yeah, I'm just great..."

He frowned slightly, but smiled at me again. "Hey, don't worry. Them big guys won't go after you, we're safe up here." I know he was just trying to help, but... he really didn't. Fact is, we just watched an innocent little creature be eaten alive, and he's not even disturbed by it a bit. It was only then that I couldn't help but wonder... how many bugs had he killed himself?

"Maybe I should go back," I said quietly, then turned away from the valley.

His eyes widened, and he asked, "But... why? They won't hurt you, especially as long as I'm here, don't worry!"

"It's not that," I said. I already knew the bugs wouldn't hurt me, most of them anyways. They weren't bad, and I knew they only killed when they had to for food. But I still really didn't like it.

"Then what is it?" he asked, reaching out to touch my arm.

"I just don't feel comfortable here," I said simply. Such a beautiful, pure place this was only moments ago, but everything has two different sides. Now I've seen them both.

"Okay..." he said quietly, not wanting to put up a fight or anything. He seemed to understand that I really didn't like it here right now, which was good. As I began to walk away, he said, "Wait!" I stopped and turned to him.

"Yes?" I asked. He just stood still for a moment, but then came up to me and wrapped his arms around me. Now I was the one caught off guard. He held me there for a few seconds, and I could only feel my face growing hotter and hotter.

When he finally let go, he held my hands, looking into my eyes and smiling. "You take care, okay?"

I nodded, my own eyes staring into his, feeling... warm inside. I don't know how else to explain it, really... warm...

He let go of my hands almost regretfully, not wanting me to leave yet I guess. And even though I didn't want to leave either, I also didn't want to stay. I did my best to smile back at him, then turned and walked back down the hill.

Well, the night was good, for a few moments... I really wished he hadn't shown me the bugs... well, perhaps I should call them "Spotlo" and "Spothai" from now on, for lack of a better name to give them myself. As I made it to the doorway of my home, I looked back. I could see Akamu standing on the hill, the multi-colored lights shining up behind him in a fantastic display. I don't remember ever seeing them before, perhaps they grew while I was away, those flowers. I smiled a bit, then turned and went inside. Maybe someday, we'll really have a walk to remember with each other.


	21. Chapter 21 The Storm

"Meeeeeeka meep!"

I covered my head with one arm, too comfortable and sleepy to get up.

"Meeeeeeka meep!"

I felt somebody nudge me. I moaned and groggily opened my eyes, looking up to see a big red blotch beside me, nudging me. I knew it was time to get up. Maybe I shouldn't have gone out with Akamu last night, I was exhausted today. Heck, nothing happened that much anyways, except for what happened to that poor Spotlo. Felt like I didn't get any sleep at all...

As the little bug -or, should I say- Leafy Spotlo was about to cry out again, I reached up and gently laid my hand on its nose.

"Don't worry, I'm up."

It squealed, satisfied, and waddled away somewhere. I turned over onto my back and sat up. The grass all over the bottom of our home was really comfy, but I still felt a little stiff. As I stretched and rubbed my eyes, the little Leafy Spotlos began to cry louder and more excitedly, just wanting to get something to eat. If I was going to be the 'bug leader', I had to take more responsibility and care for them, go to sleep and wake up when they do... even though, all I wanted to do was go back to sleep.

I stood up slowly, then stretched my legs out, my vision quickly coming back. I felt one little Leafy Spotlo nudge me in the back and make a loud 'barking' sound. I giggled.

"Okay, okay, let's go get something to eat."

I pushed my way through the small crowd and made my way outside... it was so busy out today. I saw Pinks and Oranges scattered everywhere, working I guess... but I never saw them THIS busy. I then looked up and noticed all the darkness... I knew it was daytime, but the sky was so gray. Dark, almost black clouds were rolling in, and even though we were currently untouched, I saw the massive trees swaying back and forth in the wind, which was growing stronger and stronger.

"I said, just leave them here! They're already useless, and you just make new mistakes every day anyways. You look after the stupid Pink ones, let me worry about the rest."

"But, Anton--"

"Do as I command, or I'll leave you here with them!"

"... yes, Anton..."

I couldn't help but have my attention drawn to the scene nearby. I could understand their language, yes, but I didn't know what they were talking about at all. Yellow Leader and Green Leader were standing near the door of their rusted heap of a ship, having some sort of conversation. Green Leader was backing down right away, his eyes looking glumly down at the ground as Yellow Leader walked away in a huff. I tilted my head to the side in curiosity and was about to walk over and see if he was okay, ask what was wrong, but a mouth gently took my arm and tugged at me, whimpering. I sighed and looked back at my little friends, who seemed to be growing hungrier by the second.

"Okay, c'mon... to the hill," I said as calmly as I could. We walked to the hill, I kept stealing glances at Green Leader. He sighed in what I could only interpret as sadness, then he turned and looked right at me. I stopped in my tracks and almost immediately I felt worried. There was just something in his expression that... disturbed me.

"Cory, how many times do I have to tell you--"

"Y-yes, Anton!" Green Leader said, a bit of panic in his voice. He hurried off somewhere, doing what I didn't know. I tried to shake off the bad feeling gathering inside of me, but it just wouldn't go away.

I continued on my way, letting the Leafy Spotlos graze on the grassy hill. Spot stayed closer to me than usual, he seemed a lot jumpier than he was before. He was probably afraid that the serpent-bird creature would come back for him, but I seriously doubted it would come back so quickly, especially after receiving such a beating. I wouldn't be surprised if the poor thing bled to death...

I then jumped in surprise as I heard a loud whistle, and it was directed towards us. I couldn't help but notice how... 'chirpy' it seemed. I mean... usually, when the Leaders whistle, they make a good, long and loud whistle. I looked back to see Green Leader looking at us, fear on his face as plain as day. He whistled again, sounding a bit stronger this time, then he motioned for us to come down, his eyes nearly begging. I didn't know why he was acting this way, but when Green Leader was scared... I was scared.

I looked around, the Leafy Spotlos were watching me expectantly, as if wondering what to do. They were used to me whistling and giving commands and such, so this was different for them.

"It's okay, go to him," I said soothingly. "He's a good guy, he would never hurt you."

Some gave me skeptical looks, one or two seemed just plain scared or nervous. But they all went to Green Leader, a bit slowly and unsurely. Spot stayed by me, whimpering slightly. He must have been able to sense the negativity as well.

When they were all surrounding Green Leader, he pat a couple on the head, then looked up at Spot and I.

"M-me no wanna go... a-scared..." Spot leaned against me, and I just hugged him.

"It's gonna be okay, everything will be fine... Green Leader... you can trust him, okay?" Spot nodded, he looked like he was about to cry. He really was scared... and I didn't blame him. He's been through an awful lot, and things don't seem to be getting any better. "Come on, we'll both go over," I said, patting him lightly. He nodded, his eyes squeezed shut. I gently took hold of his stem and led him to Green Leader. I hadn't noticed, but the whole time, Green Leader was giving me the oddest look... perhaps curiosity.

"You really are something," he said quietly, watching me. I looked up at him and tilted my head a bit.

I looked out beyond the ship, I heard Yellow Leader yelling again, but couldn't make out what he was saying. But, I'm not sure how, Green Leader flinched, as he seemed to be able to hear it loud and clear.

"C'mon, c'mon," he said quietly and a bit fearfully, trying to herd us away from the hill. I didn't know what was wrong yet, but everybody's behavior was definitely starting to scare me. He stopped for a moment and was about to whistle, but then he stopped and looked at me, then at the Leafy Spotlos. "I forgot..." he mumbled to himself. I tilted my head again. What did he forget? Not seeming to know what else to do, he pointed at our home. I still didn't get his message, but then he nodded towards it and said a bit hesitantly "G-go back... please, go back..."

I nodded, understanding. I turned to my little friends and told them, "We gotta go home now, okay?" Some nodded right away, looking up at the sky and afraid. "Okay, let's go home now..." We all began to go back home, except Green Leader of course. I stopped as I heard him sigh, sad again. I turned to look at him, his back was turned to us and his head was hung low. I felt sorry for him. I didn't know what had him so scared and panicky today, but heck... anything to do with Yellow Leader, and I'd either be afraid or just plain mad.

In an attempt to try and make him feel better I said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."

I got the strangest reaction from him. His head perked up right away and he looked around, seeming completely confused. I tilted my head, then he looked at me, as I seemed to be the only one nearby. The look on his face was just... pure wonderment, really a mix of confusion and surprise. I just gave him a smile, and went back home. I don't think I'll ever forget the look on his face, it was a lot better than what he was feeling earlier in my opinion.

As I entered our home, a couple bugs were laying down on the grass and napping. Some were gone, probably exploring the other rooms. Spot was laying down in a corner by himself, watching a tiny bug flitting around the wall. I walked over and sat down beside him, but he didn't seem to notice me.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly.

Spot looked at me with his big sad eyes and replied, "Me have bad feeling, no good... bad things happen soon, friend."

"What bad things?" I asked, curious.

Spot looked at the floor, sad. "People get hurt, no good..."

"But why? Why will people get hurt? Spot..." I was about to pet him, when I heard yelling outside. Spot looked up, alert, but I just pat him.

Standing up, I looked around at everybody and said loudly, "Nobody leave, okay? I'm going to go and see what's going on."

I left and watched as other Pinks and Oranges were running around in more of a frenzy than before. I looked up at a massive tree nearby and heard it creak very loudly.

"It's almost time! We don't have enough room for those rejects, just get in the ship and prepare for takeoff!"

"Anton, they're still living creatures, we can't--"

"Be quiet and do as you're said, boy!"

Green Leader cried out in pain as Yellow Leader knocked him to the ground, then he ran away, whistling and calling some Oranges to his side. I immediately ran to Green Leader's side, worried. He seemed to be struggling to stand up, like he already had injuries I couldn't see and they were bothering him. I held onto him and helped him to stand, he looked at me and I could see tears of pain squeezing their way out of his eyes.

"G... go home..." he said, pointing at my and the Leafy Spotlos' home again. I shook my head and squeaked, gripping his arm. I let go of his arm when he winced, I must have touched something I shouldn't have. "Please, go... I'm sorry..." He backed away from me, he seemed almost ashamed. He whistled loudly, Pinks from all over began to run towards him. He then made a different whistle, the same kind I heard Yellow Leader make before when he was telling me to 'go back to my onion'. They all stopped, then ran towards their big pink-colored home. I watched as they climbed up the stilts, and disappeared inside.

"Please, please, just go back," Green Leader said, looking at me. I could sense desperation in his voice, and I wanted to know what was going on. I opened my mouth and was about to ask, but I couldn't get a word out before somebody else came walking in.

"Well, that's the last of 'em. If only SOMEBODY wasn't being a lazy good-for-nothing, we could have gotten this done faster," said Yellow Leader, glaring at Green Leader. "Now all we need is one of those stupid little insect-dogs of yours."

Green Leader looked at him in confusion. "But I thought you said--"

"Shut up and let me finish!" he barked, and Green Leader hushed right away. Yellow Leader smiled maliciously. "If we take only one, then it would be worth more money. We could call it the last of its species! That's the only thing it'll be good for. Those Pinks and Oranges have real uses like being worthless slaves, just like you!" Yellow Leader laughed and slapped Green Leader on the back, who squeezed his eyes shut. Then Yellow Leader's expression went back to mean and spiteful. "You get in the ship and I'll get the dog, can't trust you to do the simplest of things." He then looked at me suddenly, and I impulsively took a step back. "... leave that thing here too, it's as worthless as the rest of them."

Yellow Leader pushed past me and towards my home, and I began to panic. I started to run after him, but Green Leader grabbed me from behind and held me back. I struggled and tried to get away, all I could think about was that Yellow Leader might hurt one of my friends, and I couldn't let that happen. He said something about taking one away... but to where, and why?

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry," Green Leader murmured over and over again, and I could tell by his tone of voice that he might have just started to cry. I stopped struggling against him, but my inner-struggle kept going. I probably could have hurt him and gotten away easily, then I could save my friends. But I didn't want to hurt Green Leader, and that would only mean that one of my friends would be taken away... either way...

A loud shriek of terror and panic shot through the air, and I watched as Yellow Leader came back out, dragging Spot behind him. I yelled out in anger and began to struggle harder, but Green Leader had a firm grip on my arms. I sensed that he didn't want to do this at all, but he was scared. Scared of that Yellow monster...

"I TOLD you to get in the ship, Cory!" Yellow Leader yelled.

"But--"

"NO BUTS, THROW THAT THING AWAY AND LET'S GO BEFORE THE WIND GETS TOO POWERFUL, YOU IDIOT!"

Yellow Leader lunged at us and swung his arm back, then made a wide arch and knocked Green Leader right off his feet. It was enough force to send us both sprawling all over the ground. But before I could get up, I felt Yellow Leader grab my stem and throw me violently. I hadn't even thought of screaming, even though I was terrified, I just threw my arms and legs out and tried to control my fall, landing on all fours very close to my home. I looked up and watched as Yellow Leader opened a second door of some kind on the side of his ship and threw Spot inside, then he closed it and drug Green Leader into their own usual door.

I got to my feet quickly, and I jumped in fright as a loud bang sounded over my head. I looked up at the sky and noticed a bright flash once in a while, a loud bang following the flash soon after. What was going on..?

I jumped again as the ground beside me... jumped. A small spot of earth was now wet, and I watched as it happened again. Water was falling from the sky! I squeaked as a large 'blob' of water fell right on my head, soaking most of my body and drenching my flower. I quickly ran into my home, looking out and wondering what was going on as more water fell. I heard the wind begin to howl and the flashes and bangs increased. This was like a nightmare or something, never in my life had I imagined something like this.

"Friend, what happen... where brother?" squeaked a little Leafy Spotlo, who came up to me. She looked out and seemed afraid, leaf twitching slightly.

"Yellow Leader took him, but don't worry, everything will be alright," I assured her. We both looked out as the big ship began to make a low humming sound, and I wondered what was going on. Then I gasped and jumped back when water began to run around my feet... the water was coming down too fast and too much, it was starting to flow inside of our home! The Leafy Spotlo beside me just watched as the water flowed in, not seeming worried, more like curious. But I was worried for sure, the water could all flood in and drown us all!

"Everybody, come here, now!" I called out loudly, unable to mask my fear. Then I made a loud, sharp whistle. Very quickly, all the Leafy Spotlos ran out from where they were and came to me, chatting among themselves and wondering what was going on. The ship's hum was becoming louder.

"We have to get out of here and find better shelter somewhere, or we'll all die!"

The thirteen little Leafy Spotlos all looked at me fearfully, wondering what I was talking about. Then they all jumped when a huge flash came overhead and a loud, deafening bang was heard at the same time. Some began to whimper and they all huddled closer. I looked out and immediately my eyes fell on the Pink home, another flash appeared overhead and allowed me to see it better for a split second. Surely they would help...

"Follow me," I called over a loud rumble in the distance, and the ship's hum was getting louder and more intense, making the ground vibrate slightly. I closed my flower, then ran out into the storm, my little friends hiding under their leaves and following closely. As we made it to the Pink home, I stopped and was hit with a sudden realization; the Leafy Spotlos have no arms, so they can't climb on their own. I considered carrying them all up myself, but the increasing hum made me panic, and I knew I didn't have that much time.

"Wait here!" I yelled, then I grabbed onto the nearest stilt and climbed. I could hear them all whimpering and crying after me, they seemed so lost and confused. When I climbed inside and stood up, soaking wet, all sound in the Pink home ceased immediately and all eyes were on me.

"What are YOU doing here?" said one Pink, breaking the silence and glaring at me.

"P-please, help! You have to help us!" I said, my voice quivering. A few Pinks looked at me curiously and with genuine concern on their faces, but the vast majority didn't like me being there at all.

"Why should we help you," said another Pink, stepping forward and crossing her arms.

"Yeah, and what do you mean 'us'? Do you have some Orange friends outside?" said one Pink with a cut on his cheek, a few others snickered as if he said a good joke. But I didn't find this funny at all.

"You don't understand! If you don't help, my friends will all die!"

"Well, let 'em die," said one Pink, throwing a nut of some kind at me, and it hit me right across the face.

"Hey, there's no need of that!" said the Flower Pink, quickly walking over to the Pink who threw the nut at me. He quickly scrambled away from her, probably thinking she was going to hit him. "If lives are at stake here, we can't just abandon them all."

The Pinks went into an uproar, not believing what she just said.

"We can't help her, she's filth just like those Oranges!"

"Let them die, she chose to do this to herself!"

Everybody hushed as the whole place rocked, a bright flash illuminating the whole place for a second and a huge bang following it. I heard my little friends scream out in fear outside.

"Get down there and help them inside," ordered the Flower Pink.

The Pinks who seemed concerned in the first place jumped up and ran over right away, then started to climb down. I heard one say, "What the heck ARE those?" but they climbed down and helped anyways. I smiled up at the Flower Pink. I always felt so small when I was around her...

I turned and climbed down as well, I let go and jumped down the rest of the way as some were climbing up, the Leafy Spotlos held onto the Pinks' legs with their stems and they would try to climb together. Another loud rumble, the water was rising too quickly. Where we were, it was still a canyon-like area, this place would fill up like a pond in no time. I began to help the last one over to a stilt, he was shaking in fear and from the cold.

"I w-w-want m-my mommy," he stuttered out, terrified.

"Shh, you're safe now, we're all safe," I said to him soothingly, then I grabbed onto the stilt. "Hold my feet with your stem, then I'll help pull you up." He cringed when a loud rumble and flash came overhead again, but he did as I said. I slowly began to climb, this was more difficult than it looked. When we finally made it to the top, I climbed inside, a couple other Pinks helped us in as well. I breathed a deep sigh of relief and shook my body, opening my flower again. I sat down and the Leafy Spotlos ran over to me, nuzzling me with affection and concern. A few checked me with their leaves to see if I was hurt in any way.

"You were, like, so brave!" exclaimed a Pink who was watching me admiringly. "I never would have, like, IMAGINED somebody going all the way out there to help these little cuties!"

"She wasn't out there willingly," I heard a familiar male voice say. I looked up right away and saw a Pink I never thought I would see again. He stepped forward, and he seemed much... taller than I remembered him. "Long story short, Kiki, she got thrown out of here a while back. She's not one of us."

"Huh? What do you mean, Tauri?" asked the Pink, apparently named Kiki, tilting her head as she looked at him.

But everybody yelled out in panic as the place rocked violently. It didn't seem as though it happened because of the quickly rising water, nor because of the wind... it felt like it moved on its own.

"Wh-what was that!" yelled out Kiki. The Flower Pink seemed to be the only one perfectly calm. The place rocked again, even more violently, causing me to fall right outside and into the water, which was now higher than I was. I surfaced quickly and immediately began to panic. Just being in the water caused me great pain, I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore.

"Swim to the hill!" called out Kiki, poking her head out and looking just as panicky as I was. I very quickly obeyed her, flailing and slowly making my way over. I felt like I was going to black out any second, but I held on for as long as I could. When I finally touched grass, I pulled myself up and collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.

It wasn't long before all of my senses were completely overwhelmed. The huge ship, making loud and frightening noises, finally struggled its way out of the water and right into the air. I watched, astonished, as it made its way upwards, wondering how such a huge thing could even fly. Then other strange things happened. I turned onto my back and watched, mouth hanging open in wonder, as the Pink home suddenly reared up and began to move completely on its own. One leg-like stilt stretched out and made contact with the hill, then the other two stilts began to move as well, until it climbed to the top of the hill. I was just... speechless... amazed... shocked, surprised, you name the word, and that's what I was. I had no idea that the very place I used to call home was actually ALIVE.

It then bent its three legs and crouched near the ground, the flower on top began to spin. It spun faster and faster until the whole thing jumped up into the air and followed the ship. I looked off into the distance and saw the Orange home do the very same. Soon, all three crafts were swaying very hard in the air because of the high winds, but they mostly stayed on course and near each other... and, during this whole spectacle, I very slowly realized... I was all alone.

"... no..."

That was all I could say. I was just in complete disbelief, not knowing what to make of what I just saw and everything that just happened. I was all alone before, but now I was all alone, trapped, and in a ruined land. How could things get any worse...

"Filthy insect..."

I froze as fear gripped my entire being, then I turned and looked into the eyes of someone I didn't expect to see anytime soon... or, should I say, eye.

"You and your little friends stole my vision... now I will steal your life."

The serpent-like beast reared her head up into the air and shrieked loudly, a bright flash appeared right behind her and made her appear even more menacing than before. She then lunged downward towards me. I just barely avoided her beak, scrambling away on hands and knees. I barely had a chance to get away, but I quickly got to my feet and started to run... but HAD nowhere to run. Now the water had risen so far that we were on a mini-island.

"You can't escape now. Where are your little friends? Abandoned you, did they... that's alright, revenge will be sweet nonetheless."

I kept running for my life. I knew deep down that my energy would run out soon, but I really didn't want to die. I dodged her beak time and time again, and she just seemed to be playing with me. We both knew very well that she could kill me whenever she wanted to, but seeing my fear and frenzied movements seemed to greatly amuse her. She made one extra-hard lunge, and her beak got stuck in the ground by mistake. She seemed only annoyed and struggled to get free, and that was when I seized my chance. I ran and grabbed her beak and began to climb up to her head. She glared at me with her good eye, it was a deep red with black in the middle. I could see my own face reflected in the smooth, shiny surface. And, as much as I greatly regretted the thought, I found that this was my only chance. I swung one arm back, then powerfully swung my hand at her eye, slicing it with my claws.

Red liquid spurt out and splashed me and she struggled violently from the intense pain. I fell off right away and she pulled herself free from the ground, throwing her head back and screaming out in agony. Now both of her eyes were ruined and she couldn't see me... but she still knew where I was because she could smell her own scent on me from the red liquid. She screeched out in rage and lunged towards me, and I just barely rolled out of the way in time. This time she was serious, pecking rapidly and desperately trying to catch me. I yelled out in pain when her beak speared my flower and she slammed me to the ground. I could only lay there, stunned, and looking up in wide-eyed fear as she was about to make the final blow.

But then a bright bolt of white-hot energy shot down from the clouds and struck her dead-on. She hadn't time to scream, realize she had been hit, or even feel the pain. Her blackened body fell to the ground, sending massive tremors everywhere. I laid there, all of my energy gone, my body completely spent. I then blacked out, and the world around me left as I slipped into pure darkness.


	22. Chapter 22 Green Pikmin

The darkness slowly lifted. I opened my eyes, my whole body was aching and it hurt to even move. I could barely see anything... except white. I shivered at the cold all around me, and I began to wonder how I was even still alive after what happened. How long was I unconscious?

I slowly sat up. I began to try and shake my head clear, but I winced and held my head, pain shooting through it. I looked back at my limp stem and saw quite the sorry sight. My petals had all fallen off, mangled and torn, the end of my stem looked practically dead. But I could see the beginning of a new leaf forming. It felt like I only just got that flower, and already it's gone...

I looked around and could barely see a thing, a thick fog had rolled in while I was asleep. I jumped back in fright when I saw a huge eye staring at me... and then realized that it was no longer a threat. What lay before me was an even sorrier sight...

The snake-beast was very near me, one of her eyes seemed to be staring at nothing. The red liquid had slowly oozed from her eye and seemed to have dried, feathers burned away and leaving cracked, ruined skin, the once-shiny green scales had been charred to black. She was long dead, but still the horror of the storm was burned into my mind.

I slowly and shakily got to my feet, wondering what could I do now? Everybody was gone, I was so alone...

I walked over to the water's edge and sat down. I let my feet slip in and drew in a small gasp, the water was icy cold. As I let my feet soak up much-needed water, all of the recent events just flashed through my mind. It was too much to handle, too much has happened... I then buried my face in my hands and I began to cry. I didn't know what else to do, so I just cried.

It was a while before my tears had all been gone, and I could only sit there and stare at the perfectly smooth surface of the water, my face emotionless. The whole area seemed to be flooded, and it really did take on the appearance of a new pond. I couldn't see that far ahead of me because of the fog still. I looked around and through the crystal-clear water, and I saw something dark near where the ship used to be. I wondered what it was, did they leave something behind?

I stood up, my feet still in the water, and I walked closer, but being careful not to go too deep in the water. It hurt so badly the last time I did that. As I came closer, whatever it was seemed to get a bit clearer. I have excellent vision because of my unique eyes. I think that maybe us Pinks were built to be tree-dwellers with our claws and good eyes.

I got as close as I could, going very slowly a bit deeper in the water, only up to around my waist. It was so freezing cold, I could barely stand it, but I was very curious. I leaned over a bit and squinted my eyes... I thought I saw lines, bars or something, the dark shape in the water appeared to be a box... no, a cage. I looked deeper, and I saw that something... no, a few things were inside the cage. And when I realized what it was, I screamed out in horror and fell backwards, scrambling to get out of the water as it came up too high and I felt like I was drowning again. I got back onto land and breathed heavily, my eyes wide in shock. The Leaders, how could they..?

Deep in the water, previously hidden from view because of the ship, was a cage. Inside of the cage were fellow Pinks and Oranges, all dead and floating around each other in the cage, their eyes wide and lifeless and their mouths open in silent screams. They were just left there to drown...

"W... w... why?" I squeaked out. I laid on the ground and brought my knees up to my chest and hugged myself, feeling even colder than I did before. Of all the things they ever... Green Leader... Yellow Leader... how could they trap them like that and just leave them to die? The terror and pain they must have experienced before they died must have been so horrible... too horrible for even me to imagine, I survived...

My whole body began to shake and I held myself tighter, my body feeling numb. I just stared ahead. I didn't know what to think either. I thought Green Leader would have helped them for sure, maybe freed them when Yellow Leader wasn't around, anything... but he didn't...

My attention was brought back to reality as a long, haunting cry rang through the air. It seemed to come above me, somewhere high enough that I couldn't see it through the fog, but close enough that I could hear it so loud and clear... I didn't know what it was, friend or foe... I wasn't even sure if I should have cared anymore. I felt like, no matter what I did, I would die sooner or later anyways. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the ground, prepared to let whatever was out there to just end my life. I didn't think I could go on anymore.

I heard a soft thud as if something landed beside me, but I didn't do anything. Whatever it was came closer and closer and I felt something like a sharp claw gently poke me. Then I felt... a leaf touch me.

That's when I opened my eyes. A leaf? Was it one of my friends? It wasn't in front of me, I couldn't see it... I slowly rolled onto my back, and looked up at something... something I definitely had not seen before.

It looked down at me in curiosity, then smiled.

"You have nothing to fear, Small One... you're safe now."

The green-skinned creature reached down with a very long stem, gently wrapping around my waist, and then picked me up and set me back down on my feet. It was taller than me for sure, and very impressive-looking indeed... its arms were long and shaped differently, it had three very _very_ long fingers and a short normal-shaped thumb with a claw on the end. Between the three long fingers was connecting skin tissue, and the skin on the last finger was attached at the creature's ankle. Its feet had claws that somewhat reminded me of the claws on my hands. Its face was a bit longer than mine and the eyes looked normal, not like mine, but they seemed very shiny and the pupil was a bit bigger than normal. The stem on its head was at least two or three times longer than mine and ended in a leaf, giving it the appearance of a tail.

This was most probably the most unique creature I had ever seen... nothing like an Orange or a Pink at all...

"Allow me to help you, please... I know a safe spot that we can go." It turned its back on me and bent down, then the long stem picked me up again and set me on its back. I was still speechless. "Just hold onto my shoulders and try not to fall off, okay? I'll try to go slowly." It spread out its arms, its huge... wings, actually. That's what they seemed to be. I grabbed onto its shoulders and held on tight, but not too tight because I wouldn't want to hurt it. It bent down, then jumped into the air and began to flap its wings, and we were flying.

I had never flown before, save for when I was thrown by Yellow Leader... it was a truly amazing experience. I simply couldn't help but grin a little, but that broke into a wide smile. This was awesome!

As we climbed higher and higher, I could see a bit more... it looked like the whole land had changed. Almost everything was flooded with water and glassy smooth, I didn't see a sign of life anywhere at all.

As we kept on, we flew towards this massive tree, bigger than any other I had seen before. My new friend slowed down and landed on a big branch, stem reaching back and setting me down on the branch as well. I couldn't believe how huge this tree was!

"Where are we?" I asked quietly. It walked away from me and towards the tree, where I could see a big hole... or doorway of some sort, and I could see bright yellow-orange light spilling out. I decided to follow my friend. It stood aside and held out its wing, motioning for me to enter. I was a bit nervous, but I stepped inside, and immediately was blown away at what was inside.

My friend came in behind me and said cheerfully, "Welcome... to Taganae."


	23. Chapter 23 Ruin Zenk

_I gotta be blunt here, guys. My last chapter? I HATED it. I was really rushed towards the end, and I've had major trouble trying to get time and write this. As I'm typing this right now, it's... March 22... Wow. And yeah, lots of people like the idea of Green Pikmin being flyers. Just as much as I like the idea of the Black Pikmin being blind and/or having tails. I can't quite remember who created them... but a great idea nonetheless! I've been here for a while, and I was the first person to announce my version of the Green Pikmin. It's just too bad others included them into their actual stories before I could, and with a similar description to mine. Credit shall go towards them and not me, whoever they are._

_And yeah, uh, I didn't get your message in the Lost reviews... I don't read other Pikmin stories as much as I used to, now that I'm pretty obsessed with Kirby. Writing this story's been getting harder and harder since mom sold my Gamecube... but ya know what's funny? I actually did make up a lot of stuff in this story, so it actually being true in the game was, to me, hilarious and one big, but story-saving, coincidence!_

_Anyways, hopefully I can write a bit better from now on. I have ideas, sure, but not for this story as much as before, sadly... we'll see what happens._

------

The Green creature walked forward on a thin wooden bridge, beckoning me to follow.

"Taganae is a sanctuary, and you are welcome to stay for as long as you want, Little One." It looked down at me, and I could see the kindness in those gentle eyes. I knew I had nothing to fear, and almost instantly I just felt so relieved. Finally, refuge from the outside...

"You are not the only one who got lost in the storm. You might be surprised." The creature looked past me and to the door. "I am sorry, but I cannot show you around. I must search for other survivors... please, rest, and make yourself at home."

With a mighty flap of its wings, the creature soared over me and out the door.

That last word seemed to echo in my head a few times. Home. Every other place I decided to call that was taken away.

I turned away from the door and looked around, taking in my surroundings. Many of these wooden "bridges" twisted and turned all over the place, all leading to more doors to the outside, or entrances to holes and hidden tunnels. The air was thick with a fine yellow dust, thin enough that I could see for long distances, but thick enough so that I couldn't even see the bottom or top to this place. Maybe there weren't any.

If I looked closely enough, I could see tiny webbings decorating the bridges and walls, and to them were stuck tiny ornaments like bright, colorful petals, little bluish-white mushrooms that glowed, and pieces of grass that were woven into all sorts of different shapes and symbols. It looked like the work of a dedicated, loving Orange... or maybe several Oranges. Not so long ago, I would have laughed at the mere thought of the words 'Orange' and 'loving' in the same sentence... but I learned that not everything is as it seems.

"Excuse me," said a whispery female voice, grabbing my attention away. I stepped back quickly for a strange-looking creature. She looked a lot like the Bug Leader, except for the odd colors. Her body was white with blue spots, and she had a few hairs sticking out here and there. She also had a white flower instead of a leaf. She began to walk past me, and behind her scurried four smaller versions of herself, even smaller than my little bug friends... smaller than when I first met them. Maybe they were just newborns. They were pure white and hairless and their little leaves were pinned down against their backs as they looked up at me shyly.

"Shh, now now, don't stare at it," the mother whispered quietly to her children. She looked up at me for a moment, noticing my unintentional stare, and blushed as she realized I must have heard her. Embarrassed, she quickened her pace, and the little ones yipped as they tried to keep up. I tilted my head in confusion. 'It'? Once more I looked down at my hands, at the smooth claws that were now scratched and chipped here and there. Did I really look that strange?

"Feh, don't pay any attention. She oughta look at her own reflection."

I jumped a bit, startled by the unknown voice. I turned to see who it was, then looked up. It was a tall, strange creature with a small body, but an even smaller head. Attached to its round body were eight long, thin, and slightly hairy legs.

"Creatures like her never see anythin' 'cept during Death, s'even pitch black where they live during the other seasons. Built for cold conditions, see? Aah, but where are my manners. Name's Zenk, Ruin Zenk. And who do I have the pleasure of speakin' to?"

"..."

"'Ey there, Missy, don'cha have a voice?"

"Y-yes, I do... but I don't have a name..."

"Oh, really?" he said, all enthusiasm melting from his voice, and then he muttered under his breath, "Damn Lunas."

"P-pardon, sir?"

"Y'mean you don't know? That's a relief," he said, sounding calmer now. "Lunas, they're all cracked, I tell ya. Bunch of crazy moon-worshippers. They don't believe in names or ranks. 'We're all equal'," he said in a mocking voice, and it was obvious that he didn't like these 'Lunas' people. "Right. All equal. They push their beliefs onto others and try to convert them, make 'em a Luna too. Anybody who joins them goes under some kinda freaky transformation, and if ya don't join them, you're a prisoner."

"You... know a lot..."

"Heh! Well, I DO travel a lot," Ruin stated proudly, head up high. "This transformation, I haven't got a clue how they does it, but--"

"Are you two gonna stand there yappin' all day? Some of us have things to do," said a grumpy Red Spothai.

"Oh, go eat some Polloms, we're busy here," Ruin said casually.

"I'll eat YOU if you don't get your hairy black abdomen outta my face!" the Spothai barked, baring his long fangs.

Ruin Zenk then turned to face the Spothai and stood up straight, easily towering over him. "I'd like to see ya try, Fatty." The Spothai hesitated, now wondering if he made a very good decision. "Yeah, that's what I thought," sneered Ruin, turning to look down at me. "C'mon, Pink, s'gettin' a bit crowded around here." I simply nodded in silence and followed Ruin as he started walking away, looking back for a moment to see the look of disbelief on that Spothai's face.

"Jerk's talkin' like he owns the place, d'ya believe him? I'da licked him good if ya weren't there, wouldn't want you to get hurt or nothin'."

"I see..."

"'Ey, I wouldn'ta done 'im in or anything, I'm not a bad guy," he said, looking back at me. "Just teach 'im some manners, ya know? Some people need 'em."

"Where are we going?" I say, not realizing I said it aloud at first.

"Well, I dunno about you, but I'm starvin', and my belly says it's time for breakfast."

We made it to the end of the bridge and to what appeared to be a hole leading into a hidden tunnel.

"There's a nice li'l spot underground, fresh berries an' water as far as the eye can see. C'mon, you must be hungry too, an' I can't wait any longer." He bent down and entered the hole ahead of me. I was a bit nervous... all I could see was a black hole, not really leading anywhere, and reminding me somewhat of that serpent-beast's hungry mouth...

"What, now yer roots grew into the bridge?" I heard him calling from somewhere within. I was a bit hesitant, but I slowly entered the hole. It was a lot cooler inside, probably from the darkness. And, luckily for me, I could see some bluish light up ahead, illuminating the tunnel I was now inside of. I went along, going towards the light, and soon realized that this tunnel was full of them... and these lights were, in reality, glowing mushrooms. I also saw Ruin just up ahead; he apparently stopped to wait for me.

"Be careful there, Pink. This place is fulla tunnels, and there's no tellin' where you'll end up without a guide."

"Thank you," I said quietly, bowing my head.

"Eh, t'isn't nothin'. Now, to food!"

He continued along, all eight legs skittering with precision, and I wondered how he managed to walk so easily with so many. Does he ever trip?

I ran a clawed finger along the wall and admired the carvings. Somebody with a lot of time and care made this place with dedication and love. I wondered if perhaps Taganae was created by Oranges a long time ago... I also wondered how the Oranges and Pinks were doing at that time. I felt so alone all over again... then again...

Looking up at Ruin Zenk, I smiled. Friends are good to have.


	24. Chapter 24 Tunnels

_Yar, Spicy! Nothing's original anymore, as my friend often says. T'isn't hard for you to read my mind on the part of the Bulbmin, because that is going to be included. I'd like to include many things in one of the Pikmin stories I'm writing/will be writing. And you're absolutely right about my chapters being too short, HBK, but everybody here knows I could never live up to be as great as GameTrekker :)_

_And yes, I'm a girl Hooray for mood swings!_

_And something I've forgotten to mention time and time again--the racism theme. Yeah, a good portion of the story is actually about that subject. Even in the games, when dismissed, all the Pikmin rush into groups of their own color. Ever notice that?_

_Oh... and, as an added note, I've finally gotten around to browsing through my older chapters, and couldn't help but say holy crap, what was I thinking? I made a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes, so hopefully I can find the time to make my story a bit more bearable to read. How do you guys read my stuff?? Sorry! I finally know what Makoto meant with their review of Chapter 14. After looking over the original file and looking back on the actual posted chapter, I realized that FFnet cut out some stuff by mistake. I probably can't do much to the chapter itself, but I hope it will be a bit better, along with the rest of them ;_

_Okay, now I better shut up before I bore you all to death even more than I already do XD_

_-------_

"Ya sure you don't want me to just carry you?" asked Ruin as he stopped and looked down at me. I could tell that he was trying to keep a straight face and not laugh at me, but he wasn't exactly doing too good of a job, and that definitely didn't help my mood.

"I'll be fine," I replied quietly as I pushed myself up with my arms. I lost count on how many times I had tripped already, but I knew for sure that it was more than enough to douse my good spirits. I'll admit, even my big strong eyes are pretty much useless in the dark, despite there being glowing mushrooms dotting the tunnel here and there, and I guess I'll also admit that a ride to wherever we're going sounded very nice and all, but I also wanted to go there without any help... then again, he was showing me how to get there anyways, so what's the point?

How strange. I never imagined that the path would be so long and dark, and most of it was lit up for a while, then suddenly we reached a particularly long tunnel with little-to-no mushrooms whatsoever. How do people live here and not get lost when they can't even see anything?

"Right, 'course ya will," he said while finally allowing himself to grin. "Just be careful, we're almost there. You'll know we're close when we hit dirt."

"... hit dirt?"

"Well, you know, er... when the tunnel turns from wood to dirt..." He shook his head as I continued to stare at him in confusion. "You'll know it when you know it, okay?"

I did not understand what he said to me at all.

"Just remember," he began with a more serious tone, "never come down here alone... infact, try not to go anywhere alone. Your kind isn't exactly the most popular 'round these parts, got it?"

"Why not," I asked just before I remembered all the horrible things that my fellow Oranges and Pinks did to the bugs before, and were probably still doing at that very moment. Whoops.

"Well, y'see... your kind is considered... strange. Unnatural. I've heard some call ya the 'walking plants', or 'Walkers' for short. It's not often you see a flower runnin' around on its own or somethin', y'know? Not only that, but Taganae gets attacked all the time by a group of crazies, feral Walkers who actually think _we're_ the freaks. There's always gonna be groups on both sides who believe that Walkers and the other creatures should never be together as friends, or even as equals. One's always gotta be better'n the other, don't quite understand that meself, but that's just the way it is."

I tilted my head at him. "Have you ever met any of them..?"

Ruin nodded. "I guess, yeah. Well, that is, I've met Walkers like you... Pinks'n Greens. Other kinds, maybe once or twice, but s'been so long I can't really remember. I remember... hrm... Blacks an' Grays... oh, Browns, they're stupid and nasty li'l things..."

Ruin began mumbling something under his breath spitefully, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. Then again, I wasn't really paying very much attention to his ramblings as I was busy being in awe. Other colors? The very thought was just so... so...

"You okay?"

I jumped, startled out of my thoughts. He was giving me a very strange look, and I guess I couldn't blame him. I must have looked a bit weird, being lost in my own world and all.

"Uhh, sorry," I said while rubbing the back of my head sheepishly, "it's just that... wow..."

He grinned. "Mind-blowin', eh? There's a whole rainbow of you critters runnin' around... Rainbow... oh! Rainbows too! Stay away from those."

It was my turn to give him a strange look. What was so bad about rainbows? They're pretty...

He blinked, then shook his head. "Ah, it's not what ya think. Rainbows are evil things. The trick with them is, they use their special abilities to blend-in with any environment. If they turned a green color when you're walking through a grassy area, you'd never even know they were there."

"And that's bad?"

"That's bad," he said with a nod. "Gotta watch your back, even at night. Rainbows can't see, but all their other senses are crazy-good. They can sniff you out from a mile away, then sneak up from behind and swallow ya whole!"

I stopped walking for a moment. "_Swallow_ me?? How big _are_ they?"

"Heh, trust me, big enough. Can ya pick up the pace a bit? I'm starvin'!"

"So you've said," I murmured as I began to walk alongside him again, wishing that I'd plucked a glowing mushroom earlier when I had the chance and carried it with me so that I could see better. I was relying on my sense of hearing and touch for the most part, which explained my slowness at trying to walk along to wherever we were going. I could see to a certain extent, but it was mostly vague, dark shapes.

"Too bad I can't draw you a map or somethin'," began Ruin after a short period of silence, "then maybe you could navigate your way 'round these parts all by yerself. Don't quite like the idea of you bein' alone, but it's bound to happen sooner or later. How long ya plannin' on stayin' 'ere anyways?"

"Um... I never really thought about it," I admitted. I never really had the _time_ to think about it, not with all of these crazy happenings.

"Ah, I see... well, best start thinkin' about it, gally. Taganae's a good place to be, big'n safe and you're never alone. But, would ya really wanna spend the rest of your days here when there's a whole world to explore? Nuh-uh, not me. I'm a traveller! Always have been, always will be. Ruin Zenk the adventurer, that's me! I see more things in a week than most people see in their whole lives! Shame, really. Ev'rybody spends so much time tryin' not to die that they forget to live! Live every day like it's your last, 'cause someday, it will be, know what I'm sayin'?"

"... um..."

"Yeah, that's right! And I'm on the move all year 'round, all through the four seasons! Birth, Growing, Harvest, Death, don't matter to me! I can take the hardest rain, the strongest storms, the thickest snow! Bring it on, nature! Not only that, but my kind's a strong'un, all sorts of powerful legs and abilities and such. I can walk up walls and trees, even completely upside down! Now, how many critters do ya know that can do all that and more, huh? But, I am especially amazing, if I do say so myself--"

"H-how much further is it?" I squeaked in a low voice, afraid of upsetting him somehow, but also afraid of having my ears chatted off.

"Ohh, not much further, don't you worry none! Now, as I was saying..."

But the sounds of violent explosions cut him off, and soon a torrent of dust and dirt came rushing straight at us. I was a bit too late to cover my eyes, not seeing it coming, but atleast I still had strong protection against such surprises.

"W-what was that?!" I asked, feeling quite scared. Was this normal, or was something terrible taking place at that very moment?

"I dunno, but we're gonna find out," he replied before he began running in the direction of the explosions.

"Hey, wait!" I called after him, but already he couldn't hear me. Just fantastic.

Not knowing what else to do, I had no choice but to try and follow him. I got down on all fours and began to run along the tunnel as best as I could, praying that I wouldn't trip big-time and break something, but luckily I seemed to be doing fine. It wasn't too long before I 'hit dirt', as Ruin had said. I assumed that I had gone from being inside of the tree to being underground, and that simple explanation made much more sense than what he was trying to tell me...

I then began to hear shouts up ahead of me, one of the voices belonging to Ruin Zenk, and I could vaguely hear a much tinier voice, almost like...

"Got'cha now, ya li'l runt!" growled Ruin as he was pinning something down to the ground firmly with one of his legs. A couple creatures from further within had also come running to see what the commotion was all about, all quite larger than myself and a bit scary because I didn't know what they were. As I came closer, I could see that something small was squirming beneath Ruin desperately, but it was too hard to make out what it was.

"Let go! Get off! Filthy monster!!" it shrieked, but its yelling seemed to make no difference.

"Come on, let's get it down to the feeding area," suggested what I assumed to be some sort of large Spotlo, and Ruin made a nodding gesture.

"Good idea, bud. Lesse what we caught trying to bring down Taganae today! 'Cept, I don't think I can carry it..."

"Then I will," said the same Spotlo as he approached the little creature. Ruin was quick to take away his leg, and the Spotlo was even quicker to snatch it up into his mouth. I felt a bit nervous, wondering if he planned on eating it...

"Oi, I almost forgot all about... Pink? Pink! There you are! Got all worried that ya were still strugglin' along back there! But hey, guess what? We're _definitely_ almost there!" he said to me quite cheerfully.

"... uh..."

"Yep, told ya not to worry! Soon I'll be munchin' down on some berries and you'll be drinking that there weird yellow stuff I know that you Walkers like so much... now, what was I talkin' about again?"

"Oh, shut up and keep walking, moron. Not like it can understand a word you're saying anyways," growled another large creature.

"Hmph, shows how much _you_ know," Ruin growled in an offended tone of voice as he began to walk with the rest of the group.

I also followed them, although I hung back a bit and felt somewhat hurt. Why was everybody calling me an 'it'? It seems so strange, considering that I would often hear the Leaders or the other Pinks and Oranges calling everything else an 'it'... I guess it was my turn or something, and it didn't really feel good. It was kind of like being called 'Pink' or 'Pinky' all the time...

We walked on for a few minutes in an uncomfortable silence, except for whatever attacked Taganae screaming and struggling for freedom. I really couldn't blame it for behaving like that, considering its position in the mouth of a known predator. I know that I sure wouldn't be calm either. Thankfully, it wasn't too long before I could hear the sounds of activity echoing off the walls, and I knew that we were getting closer to our destination, especially as I saw light up ahead, a faint blue light much like the mushrooms from earlier, except it was a bit brighter.

As we finally emerged into what seemed like a massive room, so large that it had no visible walls or ceiling, I couldn't help but stare around in awe yet again. This place never ceased to amaze me...

All around me were pretty lights, either from more mushrooms, strange flaming bugs, dainty glowing creatures, or a strange dust that hung and occasionally danced in the air. Mostly everything almost seemed to be expertly carved out of rock, even though some of the mystifying formations were actually natural. There were even more carvings everywhere, some on the standing rocks, others on the ground, almost like markers or directions left behind by some ancient, unknown people. Nearby I could hear the murmur of flowing water, possibly from some sort of underground stream, and of course there were countless creatures roaming around, all seeming surprisingly calm and tame, especially when compared to those I had met above ground. I was glad to see that none of them were about to eat or harm eachother, due to their being more than enough food for everyone. It was quite a breathtaking sight indeed.

"Over there," barked one of the large beings we had travelled here with, which I could now identify as a Red Spothai, except he seemed a bit more mid-sized and not as threatening, even though his voice was surprisingly deep.

Our small group wandered over to a cluster of glowing mushrooms, where the black-colored Spotlo spat out his prisoner and caused it to make a strange squeaking noise as it rolled across the ground. Curious, I tried to get a closer look, and gasped as I saw the grumpy yellow creature sit up and glare at everyone, my attention especially focused on its large ears and long leaf-tipped stem...


	25. Chapter 25 Annoying Arguing

_Before anything, I'd like to say a couple things. Nothing too important, really, but I'm sure somebody out there might care._

_Firstly, I have had a few people ask if it was alright that they use my Pikmin designs in their own stories. If anybody here has any interest in using a type of Pikmin that I've created, or use a Pikmin based on a type I've created, go right ahead! All I ask is that you give credit to the creator... but that doesn't mean that every clawed Pink and every flat-footed Orange was originally mine. Others have had similar ideas to mine, so of course, they can say and do whatever they want with their own ideas :) I would also _love_ it if you'd tell me when/if you've decided to use one of my designs._

_To see what kind of Pikmin I have so far, check out my profile. Who knows, maybe reading through will give you some ideas too!_

_And secondly, thank you all for your kind reviews. Every single one is great motivation and makes me want to keep going for you guys. I will also be working on updating and rewriting my chapters when I get the chance, but I'll let you guys know when that happens. Happy reading!_

_(By the way, if the sequel ever gets done, a certain Blue is actually a key character in the whole story. But they will appear here too!)_

--

"I don't understand," growled the Red Spothai, looking as though he was on the verge of a headache, which must have been awful considering his whole body looked like it was supposed to be his head. "What are we supposed to do with this thing?"

"Jus' keep it around fer a while," replied Ruin, seeming completely unconcerned about the whole matter. He had his eyes closed in what I assumed to be concentration most of the time that we'd been there. Of course, knowing him he could have just been half-asleep.

"But why? Why can't I just eat this thing right now before something bad happens?" asked the Spothai, glaring in the direction of the captured Yellow who was thrashing about in a handmade cage-like structure. Well, I suppose it wasn't completely hand-made, it seemed to be mostly made of some weird branches that were all grown together and reinforced with ropes of grass.

Ruin opened one eye to look at him. "'Cause nobody got hurt, so I dun see the point in killin' an innocent li'l guy." He closed his eye again and sighed. "That, and killin' like that would make ya no better'n them, would it?"

"He's got a point there, I guess," mumbled the Black Spotlo begrudgingly. I'm not entirely sure why, but it seemed as though nobody in Taganae liked Ruin. It almost seemed painful for them to admit that he may be right in anything. It seemed quite unfair to me, seeing as how he was a good, kind and caring person, unlike most of the creatures I had met.

"Now don't you start, Dab. The last thing we need is this nut telling us what we should or shouldn't do! I say we eat the little beast before it kills us all!"

"Oh? And ya think that'll solve everything?" Ruin opened all of his eyes and gave the Spothai a very serious look, which was something I never really expected from him. "Yeh think all the others of its kind would appreciate ya killing one'o their own out'a blind rage?"

"An eye for an eye!" he barked back. "They swarm our kind and kill without reason all the time! Before you know it, we'll all be dead, and it will be all because of ignorant fools like you!"

Ruin snorted and closed his eyes again. "So _I'm _the ignorant one? Psh..."

"Stop it, you two," growled Dab as he finally stood up. "This is exactly what they want, to cause chaos and disorder. That's exactly why they sent that little runt to us! It could be a distraction or a spark for us to argue amongst ourselves, a worthless little sacrifice to get what they want. They may be stupid, but they can be clever when they need to be. I say we hold this one hostage for now and--"

"Hold on there," Ruin interrupted, "Din't ya just call it a 'worthless little sacrifice'? If it means nothing' to 'em like ya say, why would they care if it was a hostage or not?" Ruin waited for a reply but got none. I could see that Dab was struggling to come up with a good argument, but obviously nothing came to him. Ruin just sighed and shifted around a bit as he tried to make himself more comfortable. "We'll wait it out fer now, 'kay? Not really much we can do 'bout this 'cept keep an eye on it and rebuild the part'o the tunnels that got damaged. Personally, this smells fishy to me... you think this one li'l guy did all that damage on its own, eh?"

"Well, duh! We caught it there at the scene of the crime! Weren't you paying attention?"

"Weren't you? I find it odd how we found the critter all alone, and just sittin' there. Why would it cause all this damage and jus' sit around to be caught when it quite obviously ain't fond'a bein' 'ere?" asked Ruin as he motioned his head towards the cage, where the newcomer was still screeching loudly and struggling to escape.

The Spothai was silent for a moment. "... damnit, Zenk!! Why are you always trying to make things more complicated than they really are, huh?! Kill it and kill anything else that comes near, end of story. I don't even trust that Pink-colored thing that you keep as a pet," he growled while glaring straight at me. I was quite taken aback by that look in his eyes, like he hated my guts. What did I do wrong?

"_She_ is not a thing, _she_ is my friend and a new resident'a Taganae. Get used to it."

The Spothai turned his hateful glare on Ruin, seeming to grow more impatient by the minute. "Well, maybe I don't want to. Maybe it isn't completely unreasonable to feel unsafe with the likes of them hanging around us."

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Ruin inexplicably chuckled and shook his head. "Jus' look at 'em, Ordo. Do they look dangerous to you? Why, if'n that Yellow weren't scared to death, I'm sure he'd be as sweet'n tame as a pup."

"Geez, here we go with giving things genders again..."

I sighed and looked away from the three. I grew tired of their conversation a very long time ago, but I didn't say anything. I doubt any of them would have listened anyways, except for maybe Ruin Zenk.

But... hm... that odd Yellow creature did catch my interest. Two new colors in two days, I couldn't believe it. I hardly got to know anything about that Green, but while those boys were talking I figured that I might as well try to communicate with the Yellow. He sure didn't seem to be in any kind of talkative mood, but I guess I also hoped that I could manage to help him calm down and find out why he attacked the tunnels.

I stood and quietly made my way over, so I wouldn't disturb the others. The Yellow didn't seem to notice me walking towards him. Or atleast, if he did, he didn't really care.

"SCUM!! MONSTERS!! MINDLESS BEASTS!!"

The Yellow screeched loudly in frustration, trying with all his might to bend and break his way out of his tiny prison, but he seemed completely blinded by his anger. I was surprised by his size as I walked up to him, as he seemed quite tiny. He had a thin body compared to a Pink like me and was quite short, as well as short-tempered. I couldn't tell how old he was supposed to be, but he must have been quite young as his skin appeared flawless, if not a bit dusty or wet from being inside of Dab's mouth. That and he only had a leaf on the tip of his stem.

I was a little shy as I approached him, having no idea what I could even say. Afterall, he was quite upset at being imprisoned and probably didn't have polite conversation on top of his priority list. I probably wouldn't either.

As I got near him, suddenly he stopped violently thrashing around and gave me the most hateful and angry glare I'd seen in my entire life. It was so powerful that I almost wanted to run away, but I stood my ground. As calm as I tried to look, my voice betrayed me as it shook in fear.

"H... hello... w-what's your name..?"

He sneered at me in disgust. "My name? You want my _name_ at a time like this? It's no wonder they don't consider you a threat, you're a complete moron..."

I was surprised at his hostility. It was much like the Oranges in the beginning, except he didn't look like he could hurt a fly even if he tried.

"I... I'm sorry, I... I just... wanted to talk..."

"You wanna _talk_?" He rolled his eyes at me. "Oh geez... look, kid, I'm kinda busy trying to escape from certain death, so unless you feel like making yourself useful and helping me, go away!"

He then went back to trying to get out of his cage, doing his best to ignore me. I had to admit, I felt kinda bad for him, even if he did seem to be a jerk. I then thought that maybe he was only acting so mean because he was afraid for his life. I looked down at my claws, then gazed at the ropes supporting the cage and holding it together. Maybe...

"Wait!" I glanced over to the three larger creatures, who were too busy to notice us, then turned back to the cage. "Try to stand back or something... I'll help you."

He didn't do anything but stare at me. Maybe he didn't take me seriously or something, but atleast his hands were out of the way. I slashed my claws at the ropes and cut through them. It took a minute or two, but soon they all gave way and the cage burst open quickly and unexpectedly. I panicked at first, but realized that the others were _still_ too busy to see what we were doing. Did they ever get along?

He climbed out of the cage and watched the group warily. I was about to try and say something to him, when he suddenly ran away.

"H-hey!" I began to ran after him, but apparently the others heard me shouting. I screamed in terror when something suddenly scooped me up in its jaws. I was way too scared to even struggle or try to escape, but luckily it seemed as though I wasn't about to be someone's dinner.

"You idiot, you let it get away!"

I cried out in fear when I was suddenly spat out and hit the ground. I laid there for a moment, dazed and hurt from the impact.

"I can't help it, they looked the same to me! It's too dark in here!" Ordo screamed back defensively. He and Dab exchanged some heated words as I tried to gather my senses again, and was slowly helped to my feet by a certain hairy eight-legged creature.

"You okay there, Pink?" asked Ruin Zenk in a concerned tone, ignoring the argument going on behind him. I tried to nod, but moaned and held my sore head instead. "Yeah, you'll be a'ight, just take 'er easy. Ain't yer fault the li'l scamp got away."

"For the love of... stop talking to that stupid plant, Zenk!! I said it can't understand a word you say, didn't I?" I turned my head to look at the other two, who had apparently stopped fighting and were now glaring at us.

"Shut up, Dab. Now we have to go chasing that stupid little runt again before it causes even more damage, come on and stop wasting time!"

I didn't even get the chance to say or do anything before the two spotted beasts ran away in hot pursuit of the little Yellow. Ruin heaved a great sigh beside me and shook his little head. "Them two've got all the brains'o'a blade'a grass." He then looked down at me with a tired look in his eyes. "We din't come down here for no drama anyways, eh? C'mon, I'm--"

"Starving," I finished for him in a low tone of voice, feeling quite tired and sad at the same time. This long day was only going to get longer, I could feel it.


	26. Chapter 26 Unlikely Savior

Days went by, and still no sign of the Yellow.

I couldn't seem to get him out of my mind the entire time. His eyes were filled with so much anger and bitterness, but I had a feeling that it had nothing to do with him being imprisoned by the others. The more I thought about what Ruin said, the more it disturbed me. What if that Yellow really was considered just a "worthless sacrifice"? What could he have possibly done to warrant such actions taken against him? I just couldn't understand...

I sighed and laid my head back to stare at the ceiling for the thousandth time. How any color could throw out one of their own like they were nothing, I'll never know. It never really occurred to me before that maybe it wasn't his own color that tried to offer him as a sacrifice. But the more I thought about the countless possibilities, even more questions and even more possibilities just kept springing up. It was like a never-ending vicious cycle.

"Oi, 'm back!"

I looked towards the entrance of the small cave-like room and saw Ruin Zenk approaching with what looked like a big purple berry on his back. To this day I never found out how he kept round things balanced on his back so well... but, I liked to believe it had something to do with his bristly hairs and left it at that.

He walked up to me and picked the berry off of himself before offering it to me. "Sorry, lotta critters waitin' t'get their share. Woulda gotten 'ere sooner if'n them lazy bums got up'n finally cleaned th'damn tunnel."

"Thanks," I muttered as I took the berry and held it in my lap. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with those things half the time, considering I got most of my food from the ground and the water. It wasn't quite as easy to get sunlight in Taganae as I would have hoped. But sometimes I would humour him and attempt to drink some of the berry juices anyways. I didn't trust them very much since he usually brought me red ones and they were disgustingly spicy...

He frowned a bit as he watched me staring at his gift. "Still thinkin' about that li'l Yellow critter, eh? Can't say I blame yeh. Dab's still rantin'n'ravin' about it. Can't let go of anythin', 'e can't. Ah, well." He then gently pat me on the head with one of his huge legs. "Y'wanna go fer a walk? Maybe take ya mind offa 'im."

"No thanks," I murmured as I saw my reflection in the berry's shiny surface. I wasn't really in the mood for anything except searching for that Yellow. I couldn't help but feel worried. Who knows what angry bug could catch and eat him up if he was wandering around all alone and lost? Maybe even scared and lonely...

He frowned a bit more. "Hm... well, yer decision'n all. I'ma go fer a stroll meself. Sure ya don't wanna come?"

"I'm sure," I replied in a low voice and looked up at him, trying to give him a smile. I'm actually not sure if he could ever tell when I was smiling or not, as my kind's mouths were rather small... they weren't really meant for eating or drinking anything, afterall.

"Okay then, won't be long. Stay outta trouble, ya hear?" He gave me one last look before turning and leaving again, his huge shadow looming over me before it disappeared along with him. I have to admit, sometimes his appearance scared me a little, but I guess it's natural. The fear faded away over time rather quickly as I realized how friendly and tame he was.

I waited until I could no longer hear him or feel the vibrations of his movement through the wooden floor. After making sure he was good and gone, I stood up and stretched my body out, feeling rather stiff from laying on the hard surface for so long. I would have made a bed of grass or leaves if I was ever allowed outside, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that my only way out was through a hole so high up that the ground was sometimes difficult to even see.

I made my way over to the round "door" and looked out. Taganae was such a massive and complex place, still too difficult for me to successfully navigate on my own. The area I was in at the time was large and filled with holes, each and every one leading to a different room for every resident to sleep and nest in. While almost every room was quite dark and shadowy, the main area outside the rooms was quite bright and illuminated by glowing mushrooms and a strange glowing powder. The area wasn't quite as decorated or covered in intricate designs, but it was cozy and warm. Luckily for me, it was very quiet and almost completely empty at this time of day, as usually everybody was wandering around and minding their own business. I was still impressed at how so many different creatures could live together in peace and never harm eachother, as most things in the outside world seemed much more hostile and likely to eat somebody's arm off.

I was hesitant almost every day up until then to try and leave the room. I spent almost all of my time there ever since I let the Yellow loose. I wished that I knew his name, as I myself didn't like being labelled and called by what my color was. Trying to clear my mind and gather my courage, I took a deep breath and finally let go of the side of the door to step outside. While not the most amazing feat, it was still a big step for me, if you know what I mean.

It took me another moment or two of trying to reassure myself that nothing would happen, but I slowly convinced my feet to move me forward. Slowly but surely I walked along the wooden roads and bridges of the massive tree, hoping that I wouldn't fall to my doom even though I did my best to walk in the very center of the paths I took. After even more debating I began to move downward, thinking of trying to find my way back to the tunnels leading to the feeding area. I wasn't sure what he would be doing there, but I thought that maybe the Yellow was still hiding down there, afraid and trying not to get caught.

I was okay for a while. After several minutes I even began to pick up my pace until I was almost walking normally. But just as I began to build up my confidence, that's when I felt it. I stopped dead in my tracks and stood perfectly still, eyes darting to and fro as I tried to listen. I couldn't hear a sound, but I could feel it somehow. Eyes watching my every move. But the eyes of who and what? Did Ruin lie about leaving so he could keep an eye on me? Was something planning on devouring me?

I tried to push away my paranoid thoughts, but it was no use. I began to walk forward again, but my feelings of anxiety only grew. I could swear that something was watching me and getting closer. As much as I tried to act calm, I knew that I was failing once more to mask my fear. My pursuer could probably tell as well when I began to pick up my pace.

It didn't make any difference to whatever was following me.

As ashamed as I am to admit it, I lost my cool pretty quickly. It was no time at all before I began to ran in terror, the thoughts of being hurt or eaten burned into my mind as I imagined some horrible beast suddenly dropping down infront of me and eyeing me like I was a snack. As foolish as it was I looked back to see if I was being followed. I didn't see anything behind me, but I also didn't see that I was running towards a sharp turn. Thanks to letting my paranoia get the best of me, it wasn't long before my feet met air and I screamed loudly as I began to fall over the edge. It took me a moment to realize that I wasn't going anywhere.

I opened my closed eyes and blinked in confusion, then looked down to see that I was hanging in mid-air. I didn't notice it at first, but finally I did hear something, and that something didn't sound very happy.

"Urgh! I said wake _up_, you stupid girl!!"

I looked up and was shocked to see that very same Yellow holding onto my wrist with both hands and trying desperately to keep me from falling. I think he tried to pull me up too, but he was having enough trouble trying to keep himself from falling as well.

"Come on!! I can't hold on much longer!" he grunted in a strained voice, and I panicked a bit when I saw his feet slide forward from my weight. As I finally came to my senses I dug my claws deep into the side of the wooden bridge we were on. As he opened one eye to look at me I could see the relief flood his features. "Finally! Help me out here, my arms are gonna get ripped off because of you!"

Making sure I had a good grip, I managed to pull my arm away from him without accidentally pulling him over the side and easily climbed to safety. He sat back and panted, almost looking like he himself would have died from panic, although he didn't even look like the type to do so. Then again, this little guy was quite mysterious. I never would have expected him of all people to help me.

I sat nearby and watched him trying to recover from the experience. I was still frightened to near-death, but he was tiny and had a very light-looking body. I'm still surprised he managed to hold onto me for as long as he did. I looked down at my clawed hands shyly, not quite sure what to say. "Th... thank you..."

As I said those words, he suddenly opened his eyes and gave me a deadly glare. I cringed when he looked at me that way, almost expecting him to hit me.

"Geez, what is your problem?! One minute you're slow as hell, then you break into a mad dash the next and try to kill yourself!! If I wasn't here, you'd be history! Pink mush!"

I flinched, startled by his sudden outburst. "I... I'm sorry..."

"Yeah, well, sorry isn't good enough!" He stood up on shaky legs and tried to find his strength again as he now refused to even look at me. "I've repaid my debt, so goodbye."

My eyes widened as he started to walk away, albeit weakly. "W-wait!" I got up and quickly ran to his side, which wasn't hard as he couldn't get too far in his condition. "Really, I... I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't mean to-- oof!" I was caught offguard when he pushed me aside. He was stronger than he looked.

"Save your breath for somebody who cares, Norna," he snarled at me.

I sat there and gave him a puzzled look, wondering what he just called me. "Norna..?"

He stared at me in silence as if just realizing what he said, then turned away and muttered, "Nevermind."

"No, wait!" I reached out and grabbed his wrist before he could go anywhere and looked at him with sad and desperate eyes. "Please..."

As I watched him he shot me a cold, disgusted glare. I still half-expected him to hit me or atleast yell at me, but much to my surprise he sighed and shook his head in exasperation. "Fine, what do you want? And make it snappy, I have things to do."

I blinked, suddenly unsure of what to say. I didn't expect that kind of response, even if it was cold. "W-well... I... I haven't seen any others around here... I mean, like... like you and me... you know..?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "So, what, you still want to talk or something? If you wanted company so badly, why didn't you go for a walk with that hairy beast of yours?"

I was surprised. "H-how did you..?"

"Hmph. Don't get the wrong idea or anything. I just happened to be wandering by on a level just above your humble abode and overheard you talking with that thing. Let's just say I haven't trusted your sense of judgment since I first laid eyes on you. I was willing to bet anything that you'd try to do something incredibly stupid after your little buddy was gone, and I was right. Now let go of me." He pried my claws off of my wrist and gave me a dirty look.

I lowered my head, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, I really mean it..."

"Psh... stop apologizing." I looked up at him, but he just kept giving me a mean look. "Do you have any idea how annoying that is? Sorry this and sorry that, whatever. If you were _really_ sorry, maybe you'd stop acting like an idiot and make everybody's lives better. I think it may be safe to assume that you have no backbone whatsoever, hm?"

"..." I was about to apologize again, but stopped myself just in time. "W-well..." I looked down and poked my claws together shyly. "C-can I... walk with you..?"

"Psh, are you kidding? You'll only slow me down. Like I said, I have things to do and you aren't making it any easier on me, so shoo. Go back to your room and play with a scratching post or something, Norna."

"Why do you keep calling me N--"

"I said shoo!" He started to walk away again, clearly annoyed and too impatient to listen to a thing I had to say. Even though I knew then that he was alive and well, there were so many questions I wanted to ask. I didn't think that I would be able to let him go so easily.

I quickly got to my feet and began to follow after him again. I could tell he was getting more angry by the minute judging by how his stem was twitching like that. "Please, I just want to talk! I won't get in your way or do anything bad, I promise!"

He suddenly stopped and looked me straight in the eye. I stopped, almost paralyzed by his gaze. He was quiet for a few moments and finally spoke. "What's your name?"

"Uh..." Not again. Of all the questions I'd ever been asked, that was probably the one I hated the most. I never had a name, or atleast a real name. As I struggled to think of something, a certain word I had heard came to me. "L-Luna... my name is... Luna."

He stared at me, then sighed and shook his head as if disappointed. I didn't know why exactly, but I was too nervous to care.

"A-and... you are...?"

He gave me a hard look and after a moment finally replied, "Zee."

"Zee," I echoed, mulling it over. "That's a strange--"

"Not half as strange as Luna, 'lunatic'. But I suppose it fits you."

I didn't get a chance to even think about a reply before he started to walk again. Of course, I chased after him once more. "Why do you keep walking away so fast?"

"Oh, hm, let's see. Maybe because I want nothing to do with you and want to leave you behind. But that'd be silly, wouldn't it?"

I flinched slightly at his nasty reply. "But... I just thought... that maybe you'd like some company..."

He frowned and kept on walking at a fast pace, still not looking at me. "Yeah, well, I don't. I don't need you and I don't need anyone else, got it? The last thing I need is some useless 'friend' following me like a lost child, only to betray me in the end. And before you ask, no, I don't want to talk about it."

"But--"

"And when did I give you permission to follow me anyways? Get lost! Go jump over a ledge or something if that's really what you want, go!"

I stopped walking and watched him in dismay, hurt by his words. I thought that he actually cared deep down when he saved my life. Did he only do that so he could clear his own conscience? "B-but... I thought..."

"Whatever you thought, you thought wrong!" he yelled back as he continued to get further away, intent on completing whatever he had in mind.

"I... but... I thought we could be... frien--"

Before I could finish, suddenly a massive creature swooped out of nowhere and pinned Zee against a wall. I fell backwards in surprise and bewilderment, wondering what kind of creature it was and why it had suddenly attacked him. I could see poor Zee struggle in vain as he was having difficulty breathing, and I could tell that he must have been in pain the way his tiny body was practically being crushed.

The creature cackled in delight as it held him in its grasp. "Yes, yes! Finally I have found you! Noone else, me! You are all mine now, pest! Hahahaha!"


End file.
